The demographic skews affluent to be sure, but it's an enormous gathering of highly creative and generous people. With a high preparation bar so it is primarily the highly motivated. Last year's rain cleared out the unmotivated who essentially paid others to pave the way, and those who remained were the happier for that fact.
Status, approval, escape, be around rich people, etc etc. More than a few people do things that don't make rational sense but perhaps they have a covert survival strategy I or no one else understands.