Do we hang it up, do we tuck tail & accept failure, do we remain on that corporate leash they have us on ....?
A good number of expediters do hang it up, each in their own way, though I don't think most would consider themselves failures.
Diane and I knew one long-time FedEx Custom Critical team that got out to become resident managers of an assisted living facility. Concerns about their retirement drove this decision. They did not see their White Glove work providing the way to the retirement lifestyle they sought.
It was not our primary reason for leaving expediting for something else, but when it became obvious that we could not replace our full-featured, big-sleeper truck with the money expediting would provide in the future (and higher truck prices), we looked for and found another option. Before, expediting empowered us to pay off our truck in less than two years. Looking ahead, that would not happen. Not willing to accept less of a truck to stay on the road, out we went.
Expediters vote with their feet every day, and in that sense they make their desires known. The industry adapts to the supply of trucks and drivers at the time and somehow the freight keeps moving.