Prog as a musicians music?

To answer the first question, I'm a musician. Classical piano training from age 5, recently took up drums. I've been composing as a serious hobby for about fifteen years. Honest assessment: I'm still terrible at all of it.

As for the second implied question, anyone can learn to appreciate progressive music but I believe musicians are more likely to latch onto it readily. As for why this might be, musicians are taught that they must be willing to accept constant challenge, discomfort and the unexpected in order to grow and find their musical identity. It makes sense that musicians would seek out and devour prog by the boatload because they've been trained to favor novelty as part of the learning process and subsequently derive pleasure from the unknown. Prog is filled with novelty, left, right, front and center, sometimes for no other reason than 'why not?' Some acts are essentially puzzle boxes (don't call it 'experimental' for nothing) which can be really fun for aspiring musicians to get into, if only because it's fun to analyze and unravel complex patterns. Progressive music is great intellectual w**kery, basically, and the poll seems to agree that many passionate followers of it are musicians rather than non, although admittedly not by a wide margin.

I also recall reading a study (likely flawed, interesting nonetheless) indicating that OCD occurs at a much higher rate in musicians than non. Irrational obsession may play a key part in lending someone the patience to sit through a 30 minute song with no melody that may or may not be about the fall of Atlantis or a time traveling alien messiah with a glowing dong.

I'm definitely not saying non-musicians can't enjoy prog authentically. Many of them do for a number of reasons. Exposure in childhood may have simply formed a preference complexity and the unexpected. But a musician, good, bad or ugly will always be primed to appreciate most music faster than a non-musician by virtue of education. Doesn't make us superior, doesn't make prog fans 'smarter' or any other ego affirming nonsense. Just means it seems to naturally resonate with people who have a musical education.

I'll be quiet now.

Edited for length and pretension. Smoked too much grass, got lost, forgot to answer question, etc.