I recent was assigned a problem. My boss made a suggestion that I didn't fully understand and left town for a week, with no suggestion that I had to do much work on the problem in the meantime. I, however, didn't like the idea that I couldn't figure out the problem on my own and coded a long part of a possible solution. My boss comes back, shows me how his solution will shorten things tremendously and I get to throw away my work.
I hate to admit it but it seem like I like coding. It's not even a good habit but it's now one I can see clearly. I like working on a problem, even if work isn't what the problem needs.
So I think the mindset of "liking coding" is real.