But being the underdog is not necessarily the most exciting part. It's standing against a formidable adversary, autonomy, and mastering the technology so deeply as to use it well past its design limits what attracts many hacker types. It can be pretty compatible with being a secret agent at Her Majesty's service, for instance.

(These qualities are not entirely unlike the qualities that define e.g. an elite fighter jet pilot. But you can't realistically be an elite fighter jet pilot and an underground punk.)