" in all fields including knowledge work I’d speculate the top performers are more likely to enjoy the activity for its own sake than the median performer"-- I

" in all fields including knowledge work I’d speculate the top performers are more likely to enjoy the activity for its own sake than the median performer"-- In soccer, a sport I am very familiar with on the playing side at a reasonably high level, this is not true. The median professional enjoys training and playing far less than the median spectator and median player of lesser quality would expect. The common refrain, "If I had that opportunity, I would train like crazy," "I cannot understand how people can make that kind of money and live the dream of being a professional player and yet..." clashes with the reality of young people, like most top soccer players, who want to party, not train as much, and live a life of equal wealth but fewer obligations.