I think theres more to it than just ego. I find myself watching Everest videos on Youtube (shout out Michael Tracy's channel).
Ive never done mountaineering but I become fascinated by these stories of people on the mountain and sometimes wonder if I could do it. I definately never will, theres lots of other things id rather invest my time in but I can definately see the allure and why people become obsessed with doing it.
If you're interested in Everest, I loved Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer - it's absolutely fantastic and available on Audible. Then last week I discovered Everest on Netflix, which isn't great but it's based on the book and they do a good job showing you the route and distances between the camps with CGI.
Anyways, after all that I have zero desire to ever go near Everest or any other risky mountain climb.
The yt channel I mentioned (link below), is half dedicated to speculating ifMallory and Irvine first summiited everest in the 24' expedition and the other half is dedicated to proving that Krakauer is lying in his book. Michael Tracy is some lawyer that really doesn't like Krakauer's account of 1996 and has some interesting points, I recommend you check it out.
https://www.youtube.com/@michaeltracy2356