Well I don't know the whole story here, I am new here on this platform, and I just read this post, so I can kind of relate to this as a student and researcher in completely unrelated fields, but not as a content creator on the web. I experienced many times how the hard work and long term effort may be paid less than that of other, luckier people, but I guess on the internet this happens even more often.
No one is guilty in those cases I guess, but the disappointment may still be there and you cannot do nothing about.
But cheer yourself: with this open, honest post you just earned one (and maybe a lot more are coming) new follower :)