This comment is way more beautiful than it had any right to be. Well written. I love your statement:
Hive has a weird way, both its users and its currency, of recycling itself. It grows just as fast as it devours its own. Like the chaos of life, it is what it is. It destroys what it grows.
Someone will steal these words, be careful :P I guess it is a cycle. People come back in droves when the price is "high", but they're missing the point. Its the deep, communal and individual connections that are formed.
I would also suggest that a lot of hive is sort of para-social. If you've got a high HP , you're probably going to get a whole bunch of people leaving comments on your content that isn't exactly top quality or insightful.
I had that once upon a time when I had a higher HP, before I cashed out some HIVE for splinterlands (now all sold) and my dream camera lens (which I still use to make content for HIVE for (when I can get models and model releases) ) but I am so content, with the literal dozens of people I can interact with each day, and ... for the response to this post, well, I wouldn't say that I've been overwhelmed, but I have read, and intend to respond to every single comment.
Being social is the goal here, and I never feel drained after interactions on hive, in fact, it invigorates and challenges me to be an even better writer, person, and future corpse :)