>get made redundant
>get a nice payout
>literally go to hide my smile
>spend the next 2 months studying/contributing all day
>suddenly crash and enter a prolonged depression for the next 6 months
>only do a single leetcode a day just to avoid completely rotting
>finally get an interview
>they send me a week long tech challenge
>genuinely interesting set of problem with a ton of room for skill expression
>first two days I feel slow and out of practice but eventually warm up
>spend the rest of the week doing literally nothing but working on the tech challenge all day
>even when I'm showering or eating I'm still thinking about the challenge
>eventually stop being able to sleep because I'm so hyperfocusd on aceing the challenge
>realise that my depression has gone

I don't care if this profession has gone to shit, I am addicted to the stress of software engineering, it's the only thing that makes me feel alive. I feel like a fucking veteran who's picked up an assault rifle for the first time in years. I'd do this shit for pennies and I think I'm going to kill myself if AI kills SWEing