it appears you're taking an analytical view of a somewhat emotional topic. My steemit blues relates to motivation, because I expect to be appreciated. That in terms of upvotes and monetary rewards. I'm relatively need to steemit, and I'm measuring this type of expected support in monetary terms.
So after writing numberous articles and honestly receiving little appreciated it tends to kill your motivation.
What inspires me is adjusting my expectations, and going more free flow to simply write about whatever topic seems to be inspiring to me at the time.
That takes off any pressure, and allows me to be productive and stimulated, like writing this post!