I have somewhat similar feelings on my side. I really enjoy mathematics, but at university, I realized how vast the field is and how it can be fairly easy to dedicate your life to learning something that no one around you cares about. As such, if I ever get back into these disciplines again, I'll probably focus primarily on the math necessary to solve physics problems. Not because I think that's inherently more useful or valuable, but merely as a heuristic to limit the scope, so I don't go insane with the vastness of mathematics.
I have somewhat similar feelings on my side. I really enjoy mathematics, but at university, I realized how vast the field is and how it can be fairly easy to dedicate your life to learning something that no one around you cares about. As such, if I ever get back into these disciplines again, I'll probably focus primarily on the math necessary to solve physics problems. Not because I think that's inherently more useful or valuable, but merely as a heuristic to limit the scope, so I don't go insane with the vastness of mathematics.