IMHO, this is one of the most "wise" replies on this thread. I personally experienced that "reality of academic life", with my own (now abandoned) Ph.D journey.
It's worth calling out how recent (and US-centric) it is, to strongly invest one's work with one's entire reason for being. Derek Thompson termed it "workism":
I appreciate the extra nuance you added, about the "where and with whom they do it". I can personally attest to the importance of work colleagues and environment, over the work itself. The former can make up for the latter, but rarely (if ever) the other way around.
It's worth calling out how recent (and US-centric) it is, to strongly invest one's work with one's entire reason for being. Derek Thompson termed it "workism":
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/02/religion-w...
I appreciate the extra nuance you added, about the "where and with whom they do it". I can personally attest to the importance of work colleagues and environment, over the work itself. The former can make up for the latter, but rarely (if ever) the other way around.