I've often wondered, with a cohort (community/society) of people who do not discourage freedom of expression, how many great works would come to fruition, but instead one is held back and then set free by drugs...?

Feels like there's also a connection of being brilliant and thus tortured so they turn to the escape of self medication.

I'm not sure it's the amount they drink, but the basic metabolic reality of aging. Everyone starts to feel it in their 30s and 40s. These writers just choose to keep drinking well past when anyone else would have slowed down or quit.

I feel like it's probably their lifestyles were not flexible enough to accommodate that kind of change without losing out on opportunities. The fear of death and stress of that life would make anyone work harder.