Isn't there a lot of ego involved in this, the desire for prestige and to show others that you're their superior?  It can't be for the money, since even now with the big reward tournaments only a small percentage can live well on their earnings.  The others will also have to teach or publish, and for the time, effort and expense one has to put into reaching that level, assuming they have sufficient talent to do so, the tangible rewards hardly seem worth the effort.  
 I had the desire to become really good when I started playing, but it became hard work and took all of the joy out of it. I ultimately decided it wasn't worth it, so now I just play for fun with less stress and probably just as good results.  But I no longer agonize over possibly losing.  It is after all just a game.

Isn't there a lot of ego involved in this, the desire for prestige and to show others that you're their superior? It can't be for the money, since even now with the big reward tournaments only a small percentage can live well on their earnings. The others will also have to teach or publish, and for the time, effort and expense one has to put into reaching that level, assuming they have sufficient talent to do so, the tangible rewards hardly seem worth the effort.

I had the desire to become really good when I started playing, but it became hard work and took all of the joy out of it. I ultimately decided it wasn't worth it, so now I just play for fun with less stress and probably just as good results. But I no longer agonize over possibly losing. It is after all just a game.