I remember being a kid of around five years old helping with the vegetable gardens, the orchards and animals at home with my parents. It was a good introduction to it and the lessons I learned, the love for gardening but more so for the process of putting my hand to things, actively working towards creating something through effort, skill and knowledge, has stuck with me throughout my life. That's why I am who I am I guess, at least it's partly responsible.
Being prepared, for whatever I can be prepared for, brings confidence and comfort, and gardening is part of that, as is many other things I do with my time and while yes, like you say, I only show the tip of the iceberg here, those things are incredibly important to me; I'll not go as far as say, define me, but they are certainly intrinsic.
people who live in cities and only have a balcony
Gardening can happen anywhere, it's the scale that changes.
I think if we have good memories of gardens as kids, we return full circle to that. My german Nana had an awesom green thumb - I still feel myself close to her when I garden!