Performed as well in bed as a provider,would you still hobby?

As well & as often.  No, I don't think I would.  I think all the Soccer Mom's that feel so threatened by providers, could shut the business down overnight (well, almost) if they stopped playing control games to get what they want.  
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and it's not a question of "as well". It's a question of "at all". It's been seven years with no sex at my house, not her fault, not my fault, just the way it is. If she could, she would, and since she can't, that's why I'm here. I went the first three-and-a-half years in dry dock, so I suspect that if the sex hadn't stopped, I may have never found my way to the hobby.

because of a combination of her personality and culture, I can never be certain if she is enjoying it, or just putting up with it. Whether it's pleasurable or painful. She is very difficult to read. I figure, a provider may allow me to do things that do not give her significant pleasure, but nothing that she finds comfortable or painful. That's important to me, since I like to give pleasure as much as get. If I could trust that my SO was giving me accurate feedback, there's a good chance I would not hobby, since variety in women, and frustration from lack of sex, are not primary reasons why I do so.

Why I hobby has less to do with sexual performance and more to do with erotic fantasy and female variety.

I don't think I would have ever looked else where had the sex not stop and my work for the past three years kept me away from home months at a time.

When I started out in the Hobby, it wasn't a performance issue. There cannot be a performance issue if there was no actvity. There are also some other issues that got me looking elswhere for satisfaction after many years of drought. I have found in the Hobby a way to help quench my thirst.

But as I think on it because of your question, I asked myself would I stop seeing Providers if the performance of the SO was up to the same level as my Provider experiences?

And you know what?

I have no idea for sure if I still would.

Good thing I don't have to answer that question as I do not see any upcoming change in the activities with the SO.

C_K

I use the hobby as a reward for a long grueling business trip. It is the whole carrot and donkey trick. It gives me something to look forward too.

Also there is so much preplanning that happens with SO relations. You have to cuddle, converse, blah blah blah....With a provider you can get in and get out or set the mood to whatever you are looking for try doing that at home.

If my S/O had done anything in bed these last 6 years - apart from sleep - I wouldnt be hobbying.

My SO and I had not shared intimacy for three years before I found it necessary to look elsewhere for the sexual companionship that I desperately missed.  

Although I do not regret what I have done in choosing to follow this lifestyle, I am sorry in a way that I had to do so in order to feel alive again.

If our sexual relationship had of survived and we continued as a loving, intimate couple I would have never strayed from her side.

Its a provocative question. There is something utterly primal about being attracted to a variety of different women and wanting to "mate" with them. Its got to be in the DNA so I think the motivation for many goes beyond the SO's performance or lack of. In my case the SO was never particularly into sex, was not imaginative and gained alot of weight over the years.  Seeing the beautiful providers in the hobby just gets your head spinning, your mind wandering and your willie rising.

My SO is in her early 50s and is still very slim and attractive but she's still a 50 something year old woman. Regardless of performance level, she can't offer the level of attractiveness that a 20 or 30 something year old woman can offer and I occasionally  find that irresistible.

Yep, I realize how superficial that is.

The better half is amazing in bed and can go head to head with your hot & sexy, fit provider on the looks department, but nothing can really match that new experience you feel with a new partner. It could be just me, but what I really like about the hobby is meeting and being with a new girl. Appreciating what she enjoys and does different than other women, etc, etc.

Well, the whole guy thing plays its role too but my personal main drive is very much variety.

No, so long she is able to hit a button and instantly change looks, skin texture, body scent, accent, race, background, sense of humor, sense of lust and without any reminiscence of alter ego's habits. We are not sexually monogamous, no matter how hard we pretend we are.