I agree there is an obfuscation of what is happening under the hood in Windows and Mac systems- but that doesn’t stop the tech savvy from digging a bit further. I played around with resource files back in my System 6, 7, and 8 days, and got pretty comfortable with registry edits from Windows 95 onwards.
I think it’s more that Linux only appeals to the tech savvy, precisely because of the lack of that obfuscation layer.
I don’t think any of the climbers I know would call it an adrenaline sport. It’s slow, considered, thoughtful. It certainly gets a high sometimes, pun intended, but it’s much more akin to a runners high or the elation of finishing a difficult task well.