I suspect most of the athletes are okay with you not watching. For them, sports are reality and not escapism.

Perhaps the tens of millions of dollars in annual income driven by television broadcasting and advertising sales is also a large part of their reality and motivation, no?

What percentage do you estimate when you say “a large part”?

I agree that it is perhaps possible that some olympians derive motivation from potential economic returns. I think that’s what you’re trying to say, right?

I posit that is not the primary motivator, and projecting motivations on a group of people tells us more about your motivations than theirs.