Racers & Track Riders - Why do you do it?

Getting to know a new friend recently, and they raised a simple question:Considering the dangers of racing/track riding motorcycles, why do you do it?I gave them the abridged version of "it's what I love doing", but I thought some more about it later and some points that were brought up while we talked:...for street safety/riding skills, once you're in the Expert groups or racing, you're at the point of diminishing returns...there's little money, if any, as a reward (there's plenty of money going out of your pockets though!)...there's dozens of other hobbies that are safer and cheaper...if you really love the track or racing, there's always cars which are safer (albeit more expensive) or even go-karts...if you have a job that requires physical labor, or even not (can't always work from a hospital) you are risking your livelihoodThis post isn't meant to discourage anyone from track riding and racing -- it hasn't changed my mind about the sport. Logically, I probably didn't make much sense when I explained my reasoning for riding and racing, but I just know that if I look back at my life I want racing & the track to have been in it.I'm curious to hear what everyone's reasons for riding are. via /r/Trackdays https://www.reddit.com/r/Trackdays/comments/cmko28/racers_track_riders_why_do_you_do_it/?utm_source=ifttt