> I feel like for open source projects to really get my attention they need to offer a way for me to generate income from it.

"they" don't "need" to do anything for whomever you are.

It sounds like you might benefit from blocking out some time and producing a public open source project. Then when you deal with people like yourself explaining that you "need" to eat ramen noodles and live in your car so they can make money for free, you will be able to understand what is wrong.