I'm still often struggling with this, but I do find there's a certain "activation energy" needed — on many real-world, very practical projects my interest only

I'm still often struggling with this, but I do find there's a certain "activation energy" needed — on many real-world, very practical projects my interest only developed as I made some initial progress, realized "interfacing with the messiness of the real world" was its own intriguing intellectual puzzle, and got the hang of dealing with (and appreciating!) people who had more external thinking instead of dismissing it wholesale. Also, while puzzling is it's own satisfaction, I found I was not immune to the gratification of doing something others appreciated and that was "socially" considered useful. Takes some deliberate exposure and practice I guess.