I think you are absolutely right about the mindset part, and that is the part I find most difficult.
I've not got anywhere near the hodling that you do, I think I would not have dealt with that "loss" as well as you! But I got into Steem back when it was $6 and went all-in - all my BTC and ETH, and some fiat. Back then I thought Steem was going to 2x so it "made sense".
That said, I no longer look at Hive as a way to get out of my day job commitments and instead look at it like a learning opportunity. I'm coding projects so I can get a better understanding how things work and maybe I will build something that people see value in and earn that way, instead of hoping for the windfall Hive at $20 day ;)
Oh and yeah - coding some projects should help stay active and, learn a lot. With Web 3.0 "just around the corner" for adoption, people who understand what is going on are going to be as rare as hen's teeth.
I had a "kinda" mate who stacked into Steem around there too - then after it fell - disappeared. He still has his stake, but doesn't even know of the move to Hive. Gotta stay active to take advantage.
Yeah, bought Steem at USD 3 and some Bitshares and EOS at that time.
Not the best move, but learned a lot.
I think my first purchase of Steem was at 1.80 on the way up - held all the way down too :D
Haha, at least something good came from it in the form of Hive.