They should not us LUkS and instead use veracrypt for folders and files. That way if any repartitioning or modification is needed it's simple in gparted or GNOME disks on mint.
Source is been there and done that. Luks partitions are not easily resized.
I have monetized all of my hobbies it is something I naturally do. I have been self employed my entire life aside from odd jobs.
Does it kill the passion? Somewhat but not in the way your thinking. That being said it opens a lot of doors to dive deeper into your passion and interest as well if you keep the flame alive. It's all goal orientated.
What kills the hobbies are the pressure to perform even when your back is against the wall. Like when you have bills to pay and you rely on that money to survive that is what kills the drive for the hobbies. You start to do things for money, rather than pursuing things based on interest. This will taint your drive if you let it. But if you have strong enough passions it won't kill them outright, more of burn you out on them until you grow in revenue passed the needs of life or give up and go back to a job. Once you make enough to survive fully at your own comfort level. Then that opens you up mentally again for the joy because the pressure is mostly gone and then you can utilize the monetary gains to reinvest in the hobby you love but on a grander scale, it opens your mind to options/dreams.
You shift from what you have to do, to what you can do.