“Are you now, or have you ever been, a musician?”
The question is irrelevant. A professional in any field of endeavor does his or her job no matter what their “morale” happens to be at the moment.
For the record I played semi-professionally decades ago. My uncle played first chair clarinet for a symphony orchestra for over 25 years. Both my younger brother and his wife are trained musicians with Masters degrees in Performance. He plays the oboe and she sings opera.
Full disclosure, neither are working in that field now.
But once again, the question is irrelevant. Professionals do their jobs to the best of their abilities no matter what. If they don’t their not professionals but whining crybabies who thing they’re special.
L
“But once again, the question is irrelevant.”
Your insistence on that point keeps putting me in mind of something I was told as a lad: some people play music; others just play notes.
One person can play a piece of music and evoke any of a range of emotions. There can be goosebumps, tears, chills, whatever. Another person can play the same music, letter perfect, and...nothing.
The difference is not in the listener.
Art goes beyond technique. Morale is important.