1. It's fun. Some people like to play certain sports. (I do.) I like to officiate certain sports. It's just fun. I didn't even play high school basketball. Just tons of fun. It's all intrinsic. Hard to describe.
2. I have a drive to be excellent at it, the likes of which I've only experienced with two other things in my life. That being said, if it ceased being fun, the dedication to learning and improving would immediately disappear as well, I believe (along with time spent on this forum
).
As for putting up with the not-so-fun stuff that rears its ugly head from time to time, and is hard to shake at times - - I think having some kind of support system is key, at least for me. My coworker, who is an official, similar to me, and my wife - mainly my wife. I come home and tell stories from the game(s) I just worked, then the next night she comes home and tells me stories from the game(s) she just played in at city league or university intramurals (where she works). (That is, of course, if we weren't already at each other's said games - then it's funny to hear her bring things up about situations before I even have a chance to.) It's extremely mutually beneficial.