I don't think I saw the guy's work.

I see how he could be frustrated. He probably saw bullshit posts from popular accounts making 10x what his art posts do, e.g., the obligatory "Look, I'm paying for Steak N Shake with sats" posts. The sats game doesn't always reward quality or effort.

The trap is comparing yourself to others. If you turn Nostr into a business, you need to run it like a business. No one owes you anything, and effort does not equal value. If people aren't paying for it, it means you aren't providing them value. The solutuon is to know your customer and adapt.

Whining isn't a business model.