Second, my interest is burrowing down into the underlying mathematics and formalisms. This frees you from having to chase trends at the superficial level (React vs Vue, for example). I went for a PhD in my dotage just to up my game (see my comment history for a recent thread where I described my experience).
Third, I got disillusioned with working for BIG Software and their clients. But smaller companies and organisations and NGOs have got interesting problems to solve, but can't afford talent. Here you get to do build the entire thing on your own, and it is an art to make it simple and aesthetic and a pleasure to use; you get to use lots of relatively new and free technologies, without putting the client's business at risk.
I do feel it's OK to require new tech to prove itself though and I am quite happy to keep it at arms length until it's earned its stripes - while recognising it can take years for the hype cycle to play out.
The thing I struggle with the most, though, is keeping up with the trends. I tend to do things the same way I did them years ago -- and while these are battle-tested methods of doing things that I know will work, I'm aware that the industry is evolving and maybe I'm not keeping pace.
The older I get the more I see patterns repeat themselves and I'm less interested in learning about the latest trend. I seem to be more passionate about other activities than I am about tech -- especially when I was in my 20's -- and I am concerned I'll eventually become obsolete.
How do you stay motivated to learn tech?