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I think sportsmanship and schedule are key factors. I have a young family and the wife and I have an agreement on how many games I'll do in a week. While I wish I could referee every opportunity, I must admit it's hard to come home for 30 minutes, change into my gear and leave for a JV game with my daughter bawling for her daddy. So for me, it's two games per week--one JV and one varsity.
I don't work pee-wee anymore because around here they play Sunday and Sunday is church and family day. Pee-wee is where you get your first taste of officiating football, but around here the worst sportsmanship is at the pee-wee level. So you have officials learning by trial and error and then you have coaches and parents exhibiting unsportsmanlike conduct that a HS coach wouldn't try because the state association would severely punish him. I've seen state final officials eject coaches from a pee-wee game, so it's not just the newbies that suffer. After a couple of bouts with a wild coach or parent I would think many new officials would say, "I'm giving up a precious day off for THIS?"
If an official wants instant gratification or money out of this avocation, they're in it for the wrong reasons. However, if an official quits because of the poor sportsmanship, I am sympathetic. I'd try to encourage him or her to keep it up, but if they ultimately decide to quit....well, what can you do?
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