And feelings. They trade in fake feelings. Feelings take over their lives.
But yeah, for the reasons you said and the fact that even the lucky ones are getting millions of dollars just to play act. You tie all that into the adulation they receive from so much of the public and it isn't any wonder they are the way they are. I don't excuse it, but I understand it.
I often think of sports the same way, they become millionaires for playing children's games. BUT! The big difference in culture is that sports really is a meritocracy and there is real, honest competition in the work.
From that point of view, producing The Hunting Ground is a kind of private penance for a guy like Weinstein, maybe? He knows he's a predator, can't/won't stop, but he can show everyone how he means well by with a slick documentary about sexual abuse.
I think there's real competition in both fields and the key word there is honesty. On game day, everyone knows what the rules are. In Weinstein's hotel room, some naive starlet has to guess what to do. How over is her career going to be if she says 'no'. How much worse will it get if she goes public? Will anyone believe her? Judging by the news, the answer is 'yes, but no one will do anything to help her.'
Is it like a hazing ritual where the people who go through it rationalize how bad it was?