Aside from crypto startups, could you share an example?

The presenters in Defcon seem like they enjoy what they do, for example.

Amen to that. The reality though seems to be that being a really good hacker/reverser, is still a relatively lonely endeavor. Don't get me wrong, high level stuff is absolutely a team endeavor, but it requires hours and hours and hours of extraordinary concentration and effort done mostly by yourself. It's tough (but not impossible) to do that and conventional things like raise a family and maintain a relationship with your spouse or friends.

crypto startups are infested with people desperately attempting to be the system, but they’ve convinced themselves (and each other) that adopting a different aesthetic somehow means their motivations are totally not the same.

A Linux kernel developer ? A lot of those people seem like hackers in every sense of the word. They might not be hacking the Gibson but they are hackers.