Fair point — but that's exactly the problem.
Most node operators started for ideological reasons. "Support the network. Be sovereign."
But after the fees, the uptime requirements, the rebalancing... the math just doesn't add up.
When the incentives are broken, only true believers stay. That's why channels dropped 50%.
Is a network that requires financial sacrifice to run actually decentralized? Or just dependent on a shrinking group of idealists?