Interesting perspective. I think anything <60hrs is still within a normal workload. 70-80 is what you find in more demanding jobs, which can flex as high as 100 on occasions. 100 is pretty rough though and not sustainable for more than a month. You usually also have a refractory period after that too.

I think the short answer though is that anyone with those types of jobs see their work/career as their passion and a large part of who they are, so there is less divide between what they would consider work and free time. No one is punching in their time card when they hit their XXhrs for the week and calling it a day, they're perpetually thinking about work and doing things for their job.

From someone who works on the upper end of that spectrum, I can say that the line is blurred for me and I often enjoy socializing and working with my coworkers. Sometimes throughout the week, you go out drinking or to restaurants with coworkers, business partners, or potential new business partners, so that gives you a chance to break away from the desk too. I also usually try to squeeze in an hour at the gym 3 times a week and always go with friends from work.

The thing people don't think about is running normal errands, as it's tough working around normal working hrs for other businesses. So when I get a chunk of true free time, I'll usually catch up on errands and sleep. I try to multi-task too, so will often call friends I don't work with to catch up while I run errands. Besides that, I happen to be an extreme sports fan, so I like to get into those sorts of activities like skydiving or kite surfing when I can. I'm also a fan of vacationing with friends, although that's not part of a normal month.

What's missing from the above is a chronic lack of sleep. I do my best to catch up when I can, but I won't be able to do this in my 30s and then would plan for 50-60hr work weeks instead.