I agree that it is interesting how each of us has differing factors, and even differing entrance points that change how we weigh the factors. I recognize that even with miners there is a certain speculative aspect, and sometimes the variations in speculation can provide some explanation to the seemingly exponentially increasing hash rate that does not necessarily correlate with BTC price. So, some miners, even smaller players, have greater abilities to cushion themselves from volatility or to speculate that even if there are periods of mining at low profits or even a loss, that future prices could more than make up for the low profits/loss periods. Also, some experiential aspect of mining can cause someone to want to continue to mine and to contribute, learn and interact with the crypto space, even though strictly speaking there could be more profits (and mobility/liquidity) from merely buying the various coins instead of mining them. Further, hahahaha.. the lottery aspect of mining a variety of coins in which some of them could upwardly explode and to off-set the costs/losses of mining some of the other coins.
i like tinkering with electronic stuff, been building PCs since the 90s or so. and mining (as a hobby), while not for everyone, does have some advantages, like mine a new coins that are not on the main (read: more or less trustworthy) exchanges yet. since my rig is paid off i can play around with the different alts at bit. although mostly i mine to the most profitable (for example mainly eth at the moment) and exchange all of what i mine for btc, with some coins that i think may go up more relative to btc in the near(ish) future i will sell enough to pay electric and keep the rest for speculation. if it goes up, exchange to btc, if not oh well it was house money anyway.
its fun being in crypto. totally new concepts that could be game changers, cool toys, drama that is occasionally interesting, learning new things, maybe make some money. what could go wrong heh. and we get to play in this space.
My reasons for not getting into mining is largely because I am attempting to transition into a more mobile existence for myself. I have had such a transition to mobile vision since about 2013 and partly getting into bitcoin based on such motivations. Whether I am successful to increase my mobility, or not (because there seems to be some properties (and familial) connections that I am disinclined to shake), it remains good for me to continue with such a "more mobile" vision of myself and my activities. If I did not have such a "more mobile" vision/goal set, I would have likely attempted such a mining practice too - because I am a little bit of a gadget person, and I do like some of the aspects of being able to learn more by engaging and interacting... similar to my historically buying little electronic gadgets that had helped me to exercise more than if I had not purchased such gadgets.