I started recording whether I am a buyer or a seller each time I encounter options, and the result was quite eye-opening: most of the time, it's not about the wrong direction, but about time value slowly eating away at me.

Buyers watch the volatility but it doesn't come, like being boiled in warm water; the longer they wait, the more anxious they become.
As for sellers, collecting that small amount of time value feels like picking up coins, but they're always afraid that one day a needle will prick through, causing them to spit out all the gains they've made so far.

Recently, I've seen people complain about verifier income, MEV, and unfair ordering—basically "others see first / queue first."
Retail investors are still gambling on volatility...
I can better understand why buyers are easily eaten: the moment you're waiting for might have already been drained by someone else in advance.

Anyway, I now focus on on-chain behavior and changes in implied volatility, listen less to narratives, and short as much as I can—otherwise, time value really teaches people a harsh lesson.