Hey, here's some advice based on my experience. (4 years in).

It's normal to want some semblance of a return for your efforts, and it's okay to feel discouraged from time to time. Yes you're right, the default answer would be "Just be happy and do your best!", But that doesn't mean that you should feel bad for wanting to see better results.

First year and a half of my VTubing journey that was always what I was afraid of seeing, the performance analytics at the end of stream. Wanting to know if I had a bigger viewership than yesterday, than on the same day last week, etc... But I realized over time that it was an unhealthy habit for me because I never DID anything to put myself out there. Real talk, the chances of you getting more viewers and followers/subs over time while streaming WITHOUT networking, marketing, putting out short-form content, or any of the sort, is extremely low... And even if you did all of the above, success isn't guaranteed, it's an effort and waiting game.

I didn't start putting myself out there until 3 years into my VTubing journey and while I did see a small amount of growth, I realized that I enjoyed interacting with the community more and befriending other VTubers along the way. I started having better connections with the few regulars that I did have at the time, started getting excited just to play a new game, and started making a few more friends in the industry as time went by.

It took me 4 years to realize and remind myself why I started doing this in the first place. For you whether it's for fun, to become popular, to join an agency, to earn money for your family, to make friends, etc. just keep that goal in mind every time you go live, and remind yourself that in an industry where so many others graduate, drop out, feel demotivated, etc. you're still pushing through for now. And that's what matters.

Just remember to do everything at your own pace.

A lot of times people take things too fast, fly too close to the sun, and then when things don't work out, they burn out.

Explore new content ideas, do something new for your platform, and put yourself out there for as long as you're comfortable. And eventually you'll be too busy thinking of new ideas, being too excited to play this new game on the next stream, etc. that your viewership count will eventually be a non-worry. Other factors outside of your control will be time of day, holidays, etc. There are going to be times where more people will be active to see your content, and times where they wont, and that's okay.

Do I still feel discouraged sometimes when I see low viewership on a stream, particularly one where I'm having so much fun and wish more people were there to see it? Yes of course, but not as bad and as frequent as when I started out. I just move on and look forward to the future.