It's part of a writer's profession as it's part of a spy's profession to prey on the community to which he's attached to take away information - often in secret - and to translate that into intelligence for his masters whether it's his readership or his spy masters. And I think that both professions are perhaps rather lonely.
When I go on the plane to fly home I'm literally capable of forgetting what I do for a job. That also comes about because I choose to take massive breaks between projects and because I choose to do this ridiculous thing of keeping home home.