I can't speak for "people in general" but I know someone who only likes expensive, competitive hobbies. And since this person is not rich, they refuse to start any of them because they think there's no point in trying if you can't be the best at it.

I would argue that this sounds more like a job than a hobby, but then again, I also stopped playing MtG because I got tired of losing against people with deeper pockets than mine.