You cannot be happy with your family while being personally unhappy with your work. It’s a Catch-22 kind of thing.

Baryshnikov’s remark frames work and family life as emotionally interdependent rather than separable compartments. The “Catch-22” reference suggests a self-reinforcing loop: dissatisfaction in one’s vocation drains energy, patience, and self-respect, which then undermines one’s capacity to be present and generous at home; conversely, the desire to be good to one’s family heightens the pressure to find meaning and stability in work. Implicitly, the quote argues against the idea that professional misery can be neatly contained for the sake of domestic harmony. It also reflects an artist’s perspective in which work is not merely a job but a core source of identity and psychological well-being.