We all go through different phases of development in the different areas of life, from work, to recreation and sports. Many times, the learning curve is too steep that we just give up and move on, and try to find something that is more appealing or more in vogue.
But no matter what we choose, we still end up going through the beginner, advanced and mastery phases. There is so much joy and pain that go hand in hand in that whole journey towards personal growth.
For a number of years I was centered on looking to improve just myself, always looking for the hardest lines, and the areas with the most concentration of routes to ensure maximum use of my time and effort. Through this whole process I ended up in isolation and was in a mental paradox of finding the path to get past that plateau.
I learned that this is the same for a lot of climbers.