have been forced out of their jobs and are now trying something new

I mean that is all there is to say, really.

Then there’s me, in my 30s, some professional dev experience like 10 years ago that ruined me for years, looking to get back into the industry because everything else I’ve tried makes me feel hollow

There’s only so many times you can get fucked over before you just call it quits. And if you wanna work at a big studio you’d probably just lose your job within a year again anyway. They could go solo but that’s not a guaranteed success, especially if you’re not financially stable. I don’t blame these people for going with something else. Plus with years of this bullshit I’m sure a bunch have had the life sucked out of the work they used to love.

Good for them. Staying shows abusers what they can get away with.