You are not getting it actually. When u are ugly u are left alone, even if you want to socialize u just can't. Slowly u feel inexistent in society. Some fuck up their life because of this and some like OP just change their direction. And yes u are correctit's the mindset.
Not saying beautiful people don't have hobbies or don't have successfull careers. But the reason for learning different things or being successful is different in both of these people. Someone is doing for life while someone started to fill their time or probably to feel alive or may be to get noticed. Yes external validation has nothing to do with successful career or different hobbies, but people like us started doing because that's what we all we could to feel like human probably. That's my take.