The incentives are reverse. Users want growth, but that just makes the relay operators pay more, and they get nothing in return. So relay operators are better off when nostr is small. Because the donations, which are large, never trickle down to the relays.
Discussion
They don’t get “nothing”.
Nostr.com.au is essentially break even after 18 months. We get the satisfaction of decentralising relays and providing global redundancy in the event of global nuclear warfare 😂