Y'know, one time I saw someone outright quit the comic they were working on after a few chapters because it wasn't getting then numbers they hoped for and they thought it wouldn't make them enough money. It really stuck with me, because I was enjoying said comic and the idea of just quitting because it wasn't getting enough attention kind of didn't sit right with me.
That said, there isn't anything wrong with wanting people to read and engage with your content--if you're posting it online in a public place and saying you "don't care" about numbers, you're lying. The reason the "starving artist" trope is so pervasive is because so many people want to treat art as some purely creative endeavor that you do out of passion, not something that takes time and skill and has financial worth--though those are usually the same people that think all art should be free to consume and think they're sticking it to the man by like, pirating books and reposting drawings without permission. Unfortunately, a lot of artists also buy into this mentality, and act like people who treat their art like a business are "selling out".
On one hand, if you're drawing/writing/making other art with the exclusive goal of making a profit, you're probably in it for the wrong reasons and that'll show. On the other hand, there's literally nothing wrong with wanting something you worked hard on and put your heart and soul into to be seen and appreciated, or even paid for.
Anyway that was my rant.