In (public) Suburb middle school I had a friend who played folk music as a hobby, and also made his own instruments. Mostly violin and hurdy-gurdy [1], probably because his parents were farmers in the suburb and owned a smith/wood workshop. His unique hobbies made him a bit of an outcast and people made fun of him in school, but I was in to classic music so we got along well.
A year or two later I changed school to a private school in the city who specialized in classic music, which was a drastically different environment; most of my classmates from then are professional musician.
It didn't work out for me that well in the end, but one good thing that came out of it was that I contacted him and suggested he also switch, which was a great life changing moment for him because everyone (including the dean) loved him because of his craftsmanship. Some people even commissioned instruments, at the age of 16.
It was surprising how happy & how fast he grew in his passion/hobby as soon as the environment changed from making fun of him to respecting the craft. There was only one school in the entire country that could give him that and by a coincidence he stumbled upon this, and to this day, almost 20 years later, enjoys that passion in the small community he found :)
Always wholesome whatever field, to see these people flourish rather than giving up their passion for conformity!