Is there any research to back this sort of popular statement? I am very skeptical of this kind of statement where the author makes up a romanticized story to illustrate his point. This is very similar to the popular "do what you love" blog post that get posted here once every few months.

The best programmer I know in person agonizes over his approaches until it satisfies his high level of standard. He is a professional, not an amateur who does his work for fun. Does he have fun when he works? Yes, sometimes, but not all the time.