Not saying the following is true of you, but the parallels brought it to mind. I (45) was speaking with a friend (50+) this week about job prospects. He's been employed in a particular creative field for his adult life and feels as though he's missed a boat in transferring into management tiers of some sort, while others around him did so. Did he not take the initiative? Did he not impress the right people? No one told him that perhaps he should consider this path. Resentful vibes. There's a very palpable feeling at these ages that you're potentially near-unemployable.
Now, he'd talk about principles and being a craftsman and doing things the right way. I'd say, sure, but I'd quietly wonder if he's procrastinating, being stubborn, being slow, prioritising the wrong things. My own foibles lead me to make similar mistakes, so I assume it's true for many others also.
If you have the means, or a market for attention to detail, then you absolutely can do things your way. Like you implied, you can get a lot of satisfaction out of simple things and meaningful things. But if, like 50+ friend, someone has bills to pay and desperately needs work, at what point are they making excuses when they should be recognising that many employers don't want stubborn employees prioritising what to them are the wrong things.