Mostly gravel with some xcm mixed in. My preference/strength is longer stuff (100+ miles), but haven’t dipped my toes into the ultra side of things yet.
I mean you’re not wrong… riding hard does legit hurt.
I still get a bit of anxiety on VO2 days. 
When it’s VO2 day and I’m filling in the pre ride survey…
I just knocked my easy zone 2 ride today down to 45 minutes from an hour during a recovery week because I had a long day at work and want to use that 15 minutes do do nothing 
I’m training the amount I want to train. It conducive to podiums. No. But my motivation to really train hard has ebbed and flowed over the years. Right now I’m on a “meh” phase
I’m 40 yrs old, float between 4.4-4.6wkg and I can count with my fingers how many times I’ve hit 10hrs+ in a training week over the past 15 years. I’ve only cracked 400hrs in a year one time. That being said, I’m extremely consistent…almost robot-like.
So I would take that angle that a lot of people do train hard enough, they just aren’t consistent enough.
My number one priority of every workout is being able to do the next days workout, whether it’s cycling, running, skiing, hiking, whatever. The thing I most value is durability and that builds through consistency. I’m 43, Dad of two, and teacher. To be fair, however my Garmin is consistently telling me that there is aner9bic shortage. Probably should train harder.
I don’t disagree… but you are genetically gifted. You can do less and still be successful to an extent.
I love V02 Tuesdays on the trainer. Not having all that weight on the seat makes for a happy arse.
I’m in the same boat as you, two little kids, 43yo ER nurse. I can’t train on work days because 12hrs in an ER is enough. I’ve lost durability over the years due to decreased time available so 2.5-3.5hrs a week hurts but I’m not getting significantly faster. I could probably fit some more hours in but then the quality of the training would definitely suffer, at least initially. Plus, more time in the saddle would mean my wife would have to do less of what makes her happy because she would be stuck with the kids. its a delicate balance!
Oh for sure genetics have been kind to me. But I’m also the type that if I leave at 6am to go to Disneyland and get home at 10pm, I’ll still do my 90min ride because that’s what’s scheduled. Not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing
For someone other than you, that same training volume/approach could translate to less than 3w/kg. Or it could translate to over 5 w/kg. I think this is where people get in trouble and see someone talk about x w/kg on y hours of training and just assume they can get to the same point with the same training. And whether someone is at 3, 4, or 5 w/kg, it is doubtful they would be anywhere near their genetic potential on ~10 hours a week. All of them have found a balance between how much they want to train vs. their desire to be fast on the bike (or improve health, etc.). We can all train harder/longer, but that doesn’t mean we should.
As a new cyclist it took me approximately 1000 hrs over 30ish months to hit 4.5 w/kg FTP at 38 y/o.
I could probably count on my hands how many 10 hr weeks I’ve had. Very rarely ride over 4 days/wk, under 1.5 hrs/ride, and almost never more than 2 intensity sessions per week.
I’ve averaged 7.5 hrs of sleep per night over the last 2 years. My diet and strength training are solid. On bike nutrition is never under 300 cal/hr.
I don’t feel particularly gifted aside from being more disciplined than most. Im sure I’m a little above average but I’d also be interested to see someone that is at my level of consistency across the board and be significantly lower.
Well said 
‘Harder’ is the wrong word – replace it with ‘better’. We are painfully not aware of what we are not aware of. What are your limiters? If you have an inflamed liver, unhappy nervous system, inverted breathing pattern, locked-up pelvic floor, unsafe home, etc, etc, then training harder won’t work..it will put you in the hospital. In fact, there are thousands of situatiosn where training less hard will make you faster. The word holistic comes to mind, but people seem to not want to get into that aspect..they just want to ride more. I get it.
Ya or “Smarter”
Hard to do in modern times with so much advice without peer reviews.
Tell me you’re single with no kids without telling me…
Hey! It looks like you’re a twin dad?? Me too!!
Nice! 3 boys total… they are an intensity workout every day.
I have 3 boys and 1 girl (girl/boy twins). And yeah, they keep the heart rate humming for sure 
The OP’s hot take reads like a cycling newb that just discovered structured training and believes they’ve made a big discovery.