My hair is increasingly gray, and I'm a person who has always been motivated by challenge, and never by money. The notion of poverty is somewhat terrifying to me, because I'm keenly aware of my motivations. "Find a job" is not a satisfying challenge.
I'm nowhere near retirement -- by which I mean, if my income tracks with inflation, I'll be able to comfortably retire about 5 years before I expect to die of cancer.
I can't trust my company. I can't trust them to stay afloat. I can't trust them to retain me if their funding droops again.
I live very economically; my biggest luxury expenditures are food and I could easily cut those. I really don't give a shit about money, but I have a kid and that's a big expense.
So unemployment is scary. Staying competitive brings peace of mind, and it's a game that I can challenge myself with; that I get satisfaction from.
No, the point is to be able to get another job if you lose your current one.
Perhaps you are projecting your own beliefs?
Plenty of people choose careers for other reasons e.g. that give them personal satisfaction, or a career that revolves around their belief system.
The article still applies even if their career goals are neither status nor money.
The parent's point is that there are more aspects in life than work that you can improve on (eating healthier would be one of them). And as long as your work can sustain your life, you are free to choose to work on something else.
Of course, you can choose to focus even more on working, too, if you please.