I have definitely seen that in other people when I was doing my physics undergrad. And to some extent, I probably experienced that myself.
I was on the road to starting a Cosmology PhD with incredibly high aspirations but my (then) girlfriend gave me an ultimatum: physics or me. To be fair, she was the primary bread winner and a graduate lifestyle would have been an even greater strain on the relationship. So, I opted for the latter and went into software. Also, like you, I have no regrets.
I still miss physics incredibly and, you’re right, there is something exceedingly sexy about solving those (including mathematics here) sorta problems. I sort of see it as a way to reach across generations and walk the same paths as the giants have. Anyway, I do find a great amount of joy in software problems, but nothing beats that first love.
This is something that I have observed in the sciences: a pernicious, unquestioned, and false great man theory of how science progresses (I wrote about it a little more here: http://madhadron.com/into_the_sciences-sample.html).
I was on my way starting masters on Mathematics when I discovered I would be a father, I had to find and start a career so that I could make ends meet.
From my perspective I am glad that happened, I was excessively ambitious, comparing myself with the great ones in the field, measured my self-worth on regard of my ability to solve problems.
Having to swallow my pride, learn to talk with other people as equals so that I could provide for my family made me a better person. I am not sure I would have done this breakthrough isolated on my intellectual bubble, not even talking about the difficulties of engaging with egos at the academia.
Sometimes I miss the excitement of learning something really difficult or solving some problem from a new perspective, but I am glad I am mentally healthier. I am not saying that it's not possible to be healthy and pursue a high level on Mathematics or other intellectually challenging field, but that can enable bad patterns for some people.