Why do research?

What the great one says, with research substituted for writing.

You don't live there always when you write. Mostly it's a long hard walk. Sometimes it's a trudge through fog and you're scared you've lost your way and can't remember why you set out in the first place.
But sometimes you fly, and that pays for everything. --Neil Gaiman, genius.

True of any creative field, I suspect. Science to outsiders may not seem as creative as, say, painting or writing. But it is an artform in a way. And every day, we have to find creative solutions to problems¹. It's a hard, hard slog; sometimes with no end in sight (like right now!). But the occasional insight into the functioning of the universe makes it all worthwhile.

¹ Whether hypothetical or simply practical in terms of lab practice