Do you think that was unique to Air Force personnel? You imply that the Army at least was in the main content to see the war out behind barbed wire. The great escape stories seem mainly to involve the air forces,
I have memories of reading that to a soldier, the threat of being taken prisoner was a constant threat and if it happened it was mentally accepted.
With aircrew, in particular the Bomber Command crews, after every successful sortie they were 'at home', in their Mess and possibly down the local pub, even with the wife or girlfriend.
The enormous and sudden change from 'home life' to being a prisoner was so great that their brains didn't accept POW life as easily as the Army guys did.
In the case of RN POW's, they had often been 'rescued' by the ships crews that had sunk them, so they unconsciously felt grateful to the enemy.