For every one performer that is successful enough to be "worth the headache", there are thousands more who are chronically out of work. I'm not being shady when I say that either. These are highly trained and talented people, it's just that the market is saturated and the life of an entertainer is at least 95% rejection. It's a cut throat industry.

And to your first point a few comments up I think jobs like yours are more disposable than performers. From what you describe it seems like someone could do your job remotely.

I am often able to work remotely, and yes at some level every employee is replaceable (even the CEO), but no it's not easy to recruit people with my skill set. Nowhere near the average performer. And even if a company does decide to lay me off, I also have a strong enough network at every major tech company that I don't even job hunt, I just go directly to the people I want to work with.

Performers work ridiculously hard for the recognition they get. I don't hold any illusions about myself being a harder worker or anything like that. I am just one of the few who was lucky enough to get good mentorship before industry discovered just how lucrative my specialization is and snatched up all the good professors.