My question isn't really WHY you do it.  People's motivations are endlessly complex and I don't think that any of us would figure that one out even after years of analysis!  What I'm really asking is HOW you stay in the business without completely burning out.  

This industry lives off fantasy and illusion.  Most clients want to feel like they are the only client a provider sees and that she loves every minute of it.  After trying to imagine myself in the profession, though, I think that I would actually enjoy having sex with only a very small percentage of women, and then only at a time that fits my mood. Many I'd find downright unpleasant, physically.  Added to this are those that have disagreeable personalities or hygiene issues.  Finally, I can imagine that there's the constant stress that comes with meeting brand new people all the time and the worries over personal risk. I'm wondering what it is, psychologically, that allows you to continue over the long haul.

The other day I was getting physical therapy for a sports injury.  This therapist really seems to love what she does for a living. She seems to get a great deal of satisfaction out of doing something that makes her clients feel better physically. I started thinking that most of the excellent nurses and therapists I've seen over the years have huge amounts of personal empathy.  They are able do things that a lot of us might find unpleasant (or even disgusting) because they truly want to help their patients.  I began to wonder if the psychological make-up for a good nurse and good provider aren't very similar.  Most health professionals draw an absolute line (at least at work) between physical well-being and sexual pleasure.  Once you erase this line (which really isn't true anyway) the two lines of work seem very similar.

I'm wondering, then, if empathy really isn't the most important attribute for a successful, happy provider. Maybe its even more important than really enjoying sex. My personal experience is that this virtue tends to be more prevalent in women than in men.  It may be why there are so few men who go into this line of work...

I'd love to hear some responses from providers.