Well, usually a post got that numerical upvote when they are curated. Example, if your post gets curated by Curangel, or Qurator, then the number of upvotes will be by the hundredths. I think that is one big factor why the upvotes would have a striking difference from the comment itself.
But you are right, we should stop thinking about money. We need to engage more, and unearth the hidden talents we have here, before they leave. 😍
I understand that a lot of people follow what the big curation accounts vote on, but that does not earn you big rewards. We need more people who are willing to vote manually and leave comments to make it more fun. It is not just about money.
Yes, manual voting is also good. But those curation have teams that curate manually, I believe. I don't think they follow on the big curation account. I think that they are the ones who delegated for the curation account. (That's only my assumption). I don't know how it works actually, but I have noticed it. Once my post is curated, then I will have many, many voters.
If people are delegating then you will just see the one big vote, but people follow 'voting trails' with their own account. It's nice enough to get those votes, but those people have not seen the post. I care more about those who do see it.