Irrational passion aside, spending more time to work beyond food and *maybe* shelter is mainly geared towards staving off fear of the unknown and boredom of the known.
The ability to sit idly in boredom frees up the need for resources that would otherwise be consumed.
Explored in depth, the spectrum of stimulation starts from boredom, goes through curiosity and engagement, leads up to excitement , amps up to stress and finally ends in anxiety, frustration and despair.
Each of us is engaged in a game of role playing whether we are aware of it or not. This game only gets more stimulating when more and more participants get involved and the fantasy world becomes believable enough to want to “level up” in.
It starts becoming mass hallucination when we all forget that it was a game to start with.