alt Hacker NewsPeople who enjoyed programming at this level (myself included) were not really that happy but most had to transition into a job that didn't value some the skills they patiently acquired and were machines never attained the highest level.
I would have been happy writting z80 and 68000 assembly code for an entire career.
Same here, but I think even you and I would get annoyed if we had to write machine code directly. Some people like assembly, but I've never encountered someone who eschewed even that.
If we look at automation beyond assemblers (e.g. compilers), even if you or I might be content without it, I think it's safe to say that the vast majority of programmers are glad they don't have to write assembly.