I wonder if a similar thing can happen with non-physical pursuits (specifically, coding) if relentlessly forced to over-do one thing over a long period of time. Overwork/over-stress early in my software development career led to a permanent reduction in my rate of being able to produce lines of code for any reason (work or personal projects). I relate to a lot what the podcast said comparing it to being a six-cylinder engine only running on four cylinders, a feeling of there being depths you have (or had) that you can't access anymore.

Obviously the word "burn out" comes to mind, and certainly related to that, but burn out implies an acute condition and this is not exactly it. I never got totally burned out, it was just my rate of writing code got slower... and slower. Part of this was undiagnosed (until late in life) ADHD, and like the woman in the podcast I tried to make up for it by doubling down until I couldn't anymore. It got to the point that trying to write code was like force un-pausing a video that's buffering until the frame rate starts stuttering, or holding down the flush lever after the toilet tank is empty.

Much like how the person profiled in the episode was eventually able to take up a new sport of endurance running because she can handle suffering through that but cannot do the type of running at the intense pace she used to do, I am now happily for many years employed in a government job. I have the capacity to "suffer" through months- or years-long red tape processes because it matches the reduced pace at which I can now produce lines of code - or I avoid it altogether by using my experience to solve problems in other ways.