IMO its okay to have a "gimmie gimmie" mentality, so long as you back that up with tangible results. If you work your ass off and are putting in the real work and generating real results (growing viewership, subscribers etc) then sometimes you have to go out and try to snag the attention of the sponsors etc. But yeah, the large issue is the people who aren't willing to put in the work.
Lets face it, success doesn't come to those who don't work their butts off. It just doesnt. You have to want it.
So true, it hurts. If that were the case, the true trail blazers would be successful.
I've found that success comes from making countless mistakes that leads to something profitable. If one doesn't make any mistakes, they won't be successful. This has taken me TEN years to understand.
As for "snag[ging] the attention of the sponsors], I found they usually come to me instead of me going to them. Last year, I got the attention of TWO sponsors for putting out good work. Sponsors are like cats: if you go to them, they won't stick around. Instead, they'll come to you if you have something attractive enough.