You are coping. Overwhelmingly the quality of developers is reflected in their pay packages. Overwhelmingly most people are motivated by money/benefits/QOL/GPUs.
This is an amusing response. I personally have chased the TC (to an extent), climbed the ladder, and sit at the top (below the c-suite). This isn’t cope, it’s a genuine reflection based on many years of experience having worked for multinationals in various countries.
Perhaps compensation should be a reflection of ability, but the real world is far more nuanced.
This attitude is how you maximize your TC.