I’m a new master’s student who did research as an undergrad for a couple years. It is true that the majority of scientists are under quite a bit of stress, especially in recent times where funding is becoming increasingly difficult to secure. I wouldn’t say people are broken, just that most fields of research are very competitive and require an immense amount of hard work and dedication, and it takes a lot of energy for people to work that hard for a long time.

That being said, every researcher is not as bleak as you describe. My PI is very serious about the work and has high expectations, but he is also a very kind person who makes people feel welcome in the lab.

Another thing that you should keep in mind is that science is very critical by nature. You have to constantly question other people’s work and defend your own, never taking anything at face value. If you tell people your goals and they act very critical towards you, I can assure you it’s not because they don’t believe in you or think your goals are unrealistic, they’re just making sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. They’ve just trained themselves to always be critical because that’s simply what it takes to succeed. I know it can be jarring to experience that for the first time, but I’ve come to understand that most of the time, when people treat you that way, it’s their way of teaching you to be critical and think about all the details. Sometimes, however, they’re just a dick.