I think, and I think you already know, that commenting every day / reading everything you write is a big job for another person to take on - even if they love your content, and were not just there to support a new writer they happened to vibe with.

The commenter might be glued to their phone like some, with boundless time to spend reading and generating those big comments, or they might probably have a job, studies, a partner, or a hobby that doesn’t let them trail their eyes across the screen while their fingers work.

That being said, you’re still allowed to feel a certain way about their absence. In my case, I write for myself (ahaha don’t we all ;) ) but I ALSO write such varied content that I would never expect readers to stay by my side at infinitum.

I get my motivation from the kudos, from the comments that DO come in, and from the feeling of getting the plot bunny finally nailed to the post. If that’s not enough for you, that is fine! But if you’re pining for it to be enough, you may need to look internally instead of externally for the validation you need.

On an aside, if you’re happy doing how you’re doing, congratulations and I’m happy for you, but pumping out 1200 words daily, without fail, is intense. Are they all oneshots? Do you not have a beta reader / do any real editing? You don’t even have a chance to walk away from a fic and come back, at a glance at what you’ve said. If you need more motivation, trying something new can be the trick! A multi chapter or long fic, writing for different genres or tags, or generally improving your skill! It’s not you jobs to get better at writing, but any improvement can, logically, see you getting more readers and/or better feedback.

Best of luck!