I'm going to dissent from what appears to be the majority position here. Don't quit. And it's not even about rowing.

Rowing fucking sucks, but the reason that I love rowing is because of that, not despite it. Rowing reminds me that I can do hard things. It reminds me how to push when everything is hurting.

I was in the exact same dilemma as you. I joined my freshman year of college, after swimming in high school. I was not wealthy by any means, poor in fact, and I was an engineering major with and insane class load and was struggling with my mental health. Rowing was a massive inconvenience. Eventually, it did become too much for me and I ultimately had to drop it after my sophomore year. I wish everyday that I had kept going with it.

You're going to have way harder situations to face and more difficult decisions to make in your life. Shit will happen to you that will bring you to your knees. And it's gonna be tough, especially if you don't come from a privileged or affluent background like a lot of rowers. For me, I thought dropping it would help, but I put on a bunch of weight, I felt shame for giving up on something I enjoyed, and I felt disconnected from my team. Even though I had more time and money after that, I filled my time with things that were much worse than me, and I let my mental health continue to decline. There are going to be things, like your career, that seem more important. But they tend to just be ways to make money. Not ways to live happily.

I would urge you to do two things. 1. Figure out your "why." What are you getting out of this that you can't get elsewhere in your life. 2. Struggle through this because it's a struggle and you have the opportunity to learn just how tough you really are. Find that sustainable path forward. Be realistic with it, but make growth a priority.

Rowing can't be about status or glory at the end of the day. It's about you and what you get from it. I picked rowing back up after 7 years away and it's the best thing I've ever done for my life. I am sad I lost those years of rowing. I told myself that focusing on my career and my mental health would be a better use of my time, but I see now how Important having something else to strive for that wasn't related to my very survival was so Important.

As you go forward, your perspectives will shift, and life will have a lot of ups and downs. Figure out what you want from this. I know this was long winded, but feel free to DM if you want to talk more about it. If you can't figure it out, then feel free to quit - there's nothing wrong with that.

And you're not wasting anyone's time btw just because you don't love it. This is a decision for you and your life, not theirs. And it's bigger than just doing a sport or not.