I just don't get it when I hear "muh no endgame" and "no reason to play past season" from people who aren't streamers/making an actual career out of grinding the game. Does the average playerbase really want this to be some kind of game that is THE only game they ever play day after day? What's wrong with just enjoying new season mechanics, doing the season journey, and then letting it sit until the next season while you play other games? I'm not being combative--I'm honestly asking.
As it exists, "endgame" is finishing the last chapter of the season journey. As of next season, you can try for leaderboards after you're done with that. What else does there need to be AFTER these things that isn't mandatory (season journey) to do? Genuinely asking.
I am not of the opinion that D4 is perfect. There are definitely some positive changes that can be made. But the endgame thing seems to be driven more by streamers who are paid to stream the game, or their fanbase who want to parrot their "hero", or maybe the average plebbitor who only knows how to complain for the sake of complaining. For the average player, what does endgame really mean.