(To be fair, I would make anything sound this extreme, if I was writing about it while in the mood I was in when I wrote this. I love a rant.)
I guess any classical instrument is a device for torturing perfectionists, but violin has a particularly brutal drop-off in sound quality as you reduce your daily focused practice time. Between ‘lapsed professional piano’ and ‘lapsed professional violin’ I know which one I’d pick to listen to. You just can’t do a few hours of practice a week and play the violin very nicely in tune, or at least I’ve never met anyone who can.
There’s also the fact we’re pack animals. There are normally 8-12 violinists in each section of the orchestra, playing in unison, consciously blending our sound together. We’re so wired to watching the others’ bows, listening to their vibrato and articulation, and keeping as much focus on the leader of the section as on the conductor, that I swear we develop a hive mind. I guess this exacerbates the social pressures we feel, since we’re always so aware of each others’ playing.
There are definitely some opportunities like that, but being a classical violinist with an orchestra is the first preference by far because it’s so much more enjoyable to play the orchestral repertoire, and because having a full-time seat in an orchestra also puts you at the top of every booking agent’s list for casual gigs too. Aim high, fail high, seems to be a good approach.