Motivation for playing:
Got bored playing osu!std and decided to boot up the Catch the Beat gamemode. Soon after just messing about, I got tapped on my shoulder by some dude (this was at COE2018). Turns out it was b-a-d-s123, Vinci007 and Groex. After some talking and tips I decided to give it a go and keep playing as I liked the movement, the possibilities and challenges it presented, I've kept going and received positive feedback about my improvement, which kept me in the scene. During that time I saw them play and noticed how good it gets when you're top 25. After a few months of playing I gave it a break. Came back 4 months later and am still grinding to this day. Another motivator for my playing is the people I talk to daily; we talk about getting scores / improving ourselves as a player etc.
TL;DR: Met top players when playing CtB out of the blue, positive feedback from peers, friendly community.
Motivation for mapping:
Mostly the mappers' maps I've enjoyed and how little maps there actually are for Catch the Beat. (converts are too hard)
Biggest inspirations when it comes to players: Ascendance & Spectator, I see their names almost everywhere when I'm looking for a map to play and they play very nice. For my maps, I think of it as to give back to the Catch the Beat's mappers & players. Despite them knowing that their map will be not as popular as the typical 1-2 jumps in osu!std, they do it because they care about the community (I assume).
TL;DR: Good mappers make me enjoy mapping, giving back to the community.
Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.