Probably hobbyists were more likely to join rust side after learning about its pros?
If someone is passionate but that makes them more productive, why would that be a bad thing? At the end of the day, they’re still more productive?
Regardless, there’s nothing to indicate that the folks involved are new, or “more passionate” or whatever. They’re Google engineers doing their job at Google. Google has a bunch of Rust projects, some large ones too, that have been going on for years.
I don't even like Rust that much but it's like Stockholm Syndrome is a requirement to have a positive opinion regarding C++.
As an answer, Lars specifies that these are regular engineers who were asked to learn Rust, and not early adopters who like shiny things.