If you have to grind out making millions over the course of a decade or three, that's simply called having a regular job. That's the status quo.
The passive income folk are all about finding some "hack" where you can be clever or smart or out-hustle the next guy and unlock some secret method to making passive income without capital. That's the entire "industry" in a nutshell. They are not going to folks with $1m in the bank telling them how to make 4% returns on it by tossing it into low cost ETFs. They are going to folks grinding out a living saying they have a shortcut to not needing that capital base to start off with.
tldr; If you already have capital, you don't need to think about passive income. It just happens.
being a professional investor (what you’re referring to) is especially terrifying in a low interest rate environment.