As a professional musician, every very few years you sit down and you write new songs and record an album. But then you have to go on tour to make money and engage your fanbase and demonstrate what you've learned and finessed in a way that delivers immediate value to your customers. Touring is not fundamentally creative, but it is enjoyable in it's own right. Or you can be a hobbyist composer (pure creativity). Or a session musician (pure craft). Or play in a covers band (pure work). I don't see this as any different.

Your analogy has a flaw. Do you just tour the rest of your life writing no new songs? Or very few?

You won't tour for long as a one hit wonder and I think what's being said by the OP is quite similar