Yeah, I think if you're too fixated on the rewards you most likely will leave Hive after a while. The top earners on Hive have built up a reputation over years of sustained community interaction and contribution, their results cannot be replicated in weeks or even months. The good thing about Hive, as you said, is that the community at large is welcoming and friendly - even without monetary reward, I feel like it's somewhere where you can have fun interacting.

Besides, Hive does have quite a few curators that lurk around for quality posts by underappreciated authors. If you're consistently writing well, it should only be a matter of time before your posts do get picked up and flourish. 😄