Sorry about the condescension. I did try, and I wasn't being sarcastic. I guess I'm reacting vicariously to all the contempt that I do find baffling. As might be obvious, I tend to put myself on the audience side here.

"I don't think I (or anybody else who is in a band) deserve any more acknowledgement than anybody else who excels in their profession."

Fine, but that's kind of why I gave the real estate example. I don't think this is an "artists only" thing. Sometimes people react strangely to attempted acknowledgement, for the reasons I attempted to make sense of. I might have foolishly asked her something about being "excited" if she was doing a big fancy deal or something.

You analogize your music to the dullest kinds of things, like shoving spam in a mailbox, but there are less dull jobs people have. Over and over you say "it's just a job", but that doesn't really say much. There are jobs and there are jobs. Usually, when people say that, it means, "I couldn't care less about what I do and really hate it sometimes but I need the money." I wouldn't ask those people about excitement, but I don't think that's supposed to be your problem with your job.

You leave very little room for anything resembling praise, and I wouldn't want to be in the position of a non-musician trying to offer it. It's almost like anything a non-musician might say would get the slapback, "Well then why don't you do it YOURSELF?"

But people get to be non-musicians and still admire musicians, there's nothing intrinsically broken about that. A person might have absolutely no interest in learning to play guitar himself, at all, ever, and yet still really appreciate good guitar playing, and even say that to guitarist players. I see nothing wrong with that.

I do get the thing about the guy wishing he "could" play guitar like you. I can understand why hearing that enough might make you want to scream and say "I PLAY like this because I WORK at it."

"Also, never believe that you can see inside someone's head to know or assume to know what they think."

That's what words are for.

I have a feeling I shouldn't have jumped in here, but too late now, and deletes don't work. I do apologize if I have crossed any lines.