Lower performers (maybe even average performers) actually work better if the boss physically present. I wonder if it will all even out because of the ratio of high performers in the federal government.
As someone with ADHD (and who knows what else), I've found it very helpful to have some sort of colleague or peer or "boss"-type supervision or nudging, and I say this as a "high performer" if we want to use that term. This kind of motivation is almost non-existent in a WFH context as check ins and other such regular interactions are very high-pressure.
You're right, each of us have differing motivations. That doesn't give anyone license to promote their own point of view and tar everyone else with the same brush.
Even a 1_000_000_000 monkeys will never realistically write so much as a limerick.