Why Play Through Misery

When Im running bad and poker is miserable I sometimes get the questions about why. Why do it when it makes you so miserable so much of the time? Right after the beat I tend to be very fatalistic and talk about being cursed and pretty much just rant and rave for about 18 hours. But after I calm down I do return to the fact that I love to play. The best answer I can come up with is: Do you think Kevin Garnet should have quit playing basketball when he was with the T-Wolves because he was losing so much for so many years and it drove him absolutely crazy? Do you think his disappointment in the results shouldve caused him to give up the game? Im not saying Im the Kevin Garnet of poker or anything but the same way an NBA player practices and watches tape and gets ready to play, a lot of player including me like to read books, participate in online forums, and watch videos and learn more to play the game. Why? For the same reason. We love the game and want to play our best. I believe if you put in the work you can be at least a small winning player even with only situational math and no instinct for the game. We're not degenerates. If we get our money in good and get unlucky for a long stretch or if we get drafted by the Clippers and have the bad luck of being on a crappy team we dont just quit playing. We feel like everytime we step on the court or sit at a new table it is a new game. So why is it different to the wives or the friends who think we are just degenerate gamblers chasing cards?