> When I write code for the sake of writing code,

I struggle to understand that comparison. Code is notation, you can’t write code for the sake of writing code. You have a problem and you instruct the computer how to do it. And for the sake of your collaborator and your futher self, you take care of how you write that. There’s no real distinction IMO.

> There is also a hidden presumption in what you've written that 1) the code will be badly written

The computers does not really care about what programming language you’re using and the name of your variables and other indentifiers. People do. You can have correct code (decompiled assembly or minified JavaScript) and no one will wants to collaborate on that.

Code is often the most precise explanation of some process. By being formal, it’s a truthful representation of the process. Specs and documentations can describe truth, but they do not embody it.

You can always collaborate with markdown files. But eventually someone will have to look at the code and understand what it does, because that’s the truth that matters. Anything else is prayers and hope. And if you’ve never cared about maintainability and quality of the code, it will probably be an arduous process.