I certainly can't compare myself to this kid in terms of achievement, but I got heavily into physics around 15-16 after an intense psychedelic experience made m

I certainly can't compare myself to this kid in terms of achievement, but I got heavily into physics around 15-16 after an intense psychedelic experience made me start to obsess over the idea of figuring out "what the universe is made of" (to which studying and researching physics seemed to be the most optimistic approach of getting any solid answers). [This lead me down a path to getting my undergrad physics degree a few years later, but I eventually shifted my focus to CS and am now a software engineer, partially because my obsession faded over time and because I realized that a tenure track in physics wasn't really the kind of life or career I had originally envisioned.] What motivated me is probably not at all similar to what is going on with this kid, but I just wanted to offer it as an anecdote to how a teenager might become fascinated with physics, since you asked.