GG
Secretly the guys that say keep your job and fly recreationally probably still look up and think 'what if'.
That is probably true. For me, nahh, although as a job(employee) it would be one I would do. Had I been more committed and not bored out of my brain at Amberley when I was a kid doing a weeks work experience, had they bothered to put me in a SIM or even a bou or something back then, I would have retired off a PIG had I been good enough, and now flying an A320 at JQ or B737 at VA.
Lots of ifs, but in my case, no I am doing very nicely as it is. But I think most folk you refer to probably do feel that way underneath it all.