Sounds like he might have been acting on wisdom, and at the time you might have perceived him through a lense of naivete, which still holds. I felt similarly in my early twenties in perhaps a similar environment, but now I know all the seniors I'd have resented were decades ahead of me in terms of what they valued and why. Caring about that work was stupid, and I should have just enjoyed my time more.
How do you know, and for better or worse?
Sounds like he might have been acting on wisdom, and at the time you might have perceived him through a lense of naivete, which still holds. I felt similarly in my early twenties in perhaps a similar environment, but now I know all the seniors I'd have resented were decades ahead of me in terms of what they valued and why. Caring about that work was stupid, and I should have just enjoyed my time more.