Of course, along most LD routes, the typical
potential passenger drives or flies, depending on the distance and their income bracket.
I wonder how many LD coach pax are there because it's the cheapest way to travel without a car, or with substantial luggage, or to or from a town that's far from an airport? I don't remember the numbers but I know most of the CZ, for example, is not filled with CHI-Emeryville pax, and most of the stations, even small ones, seem to have a decent number of people on and off. So how many of the people in coach on LD trains are actually taking LD trips? It's substantial, especially at night, but I don't know exactly.
But I agree about the typical passenger wanting decent comfort and/or decent price and/or decent reliability, not some imagined experience. And a smooth ride and clean bathrooms. And in scenic places I assume a lot of people want a decent window, too. Lots of pax outside the corridors are at least a little bit taking the train as a special thing to do or a way to see the country, even if that's a by-product of visiting grandma or going to college or going from one auditorium chair installing job to another (one of hte more interesting reasons for travel I ever heard in a sightseer lounge) or a scout trip or whatever.