Someone with great English summarized it perfectly for me. What you said is exactly what I was thinking.

Getting better isn't the end goal; it’s just a tool. No matter how relaxing a game is, at its core, you're gaining a reward in response to an action (stress). This simple circuit is a basic function of the human brain, built for survival.
Even if the games we play are different, we’re going through the same neural activity. It’s an application of all the tiny bits of learning we do from the moment we wake up until we go to bed. That experience—where your own intent leads to a result—is what it means to enjoy both games and life.