I can only convey some of my own experiences here, maybe doing so will help in some small way.
I remember selling all my synths when I was in college because I needed the money for a better computer, and because I was a computer science major, putting the money into something that helped me make a living one day seemed wiser than spending on music gear, since I never personally had aspirations of being involved in music professionally. Also, and perhaps of more consequence was the amount of time I would end up spending making music. That too was time that could be spent studying or doing something toward shaping my career. I remember feeling guilty anytime I spent time on music of video games. So, music was put completely on hold, and I just studied my ass off for the most part.
In my second year of college I remember hitting max stress level, and actually calling one of those hotlines the school had listed in case a student needs to talk to someone. It was only a single conversation with a professional counselor that lasted maybe 40 mins, but it was enormously helpful. He had me describe my routine to him, and when I did he said "what do you do for fun?"... and I realized I had completely put "fun" on hold. Making music was one form of fun and a creative outlet, but I had given that up. I had forgotten to carve out "me time".
Anyway I didn't immediately start buying gear again, in fact it wasn't really until DAW technology evolved to become a complete solution that I started spending more time with music, and for a long time it was in-the-box / plugins only. Then the occasional hardware purchase, etc. started happening, and when the pandemic hit, I think I got to a point where I realized making music is incredible therapy for life's stress, and started investing in my current studio more.
What did I learn along the way? Well that I'm happiest when I minimize my long-term regrets. My biggest regret as it relates to making music or music gear is that I didn't allocate more time to the hobby. I could have been a better keyboard player if I had invested more time to practice, or I would have invested the time to memorize scales,.. Lots of my music theory has been lost to "use it or lose it syndrome"... wish I had used it more. I wish I had bought certain pieces of gear when they were affordable, and invested time to learn them inside and out.
As with all things, your mileage may vary.... but synth enthusiasts are notorious for selling it all off, only to eventually either buy it all back or just moan about the pieces they should have never let go.
Also remember there are some enormously talented, famous people who simply threw in the towel altogether on music due to personal reasons never fully understood by their fans. Examples that come to mind are Mark Hollis (Talk Talk) and Alan Wilder (Depeche Mode). And those departures are literally mourned by thousands of people, bummed that they will never hear more works from those artists. They had their reasons, they knew what was right for them. Ultimately each of us has to make our own choices and live with them.