Agree, the money is the key here.

I got started in the 1980s, and super-curious and technical people were the norm. We were incredibly strongly attracted to computers.

The first real growth in computers in that kind of era was Wall Street and banks. Wall Street in particular started paying huge bonuses to developers because it was clear that software could make huge piles of money. Then we started seeing more people joining in for the money who were not necessarily passionate about technology.

Then came the dot com era and bust, and then the rise of social media, FAANG, and absurd corporate valuations allowing ridiculous total comp to developers, and the needle moved even more towards money.

The net result is the curious and the passionate are still here, but our numbers are massively diluted.

I come places like here to find that passionate niche.