Many years ago, in "another life", I hand-laid some of the track on an HO scale layout I was working on at the time. I found the task to be relaxing and rewarding. However, I was not pressed for time, as John has alluded to in post #2.
This hobby can be enjoyed many different ways by many different people. Hand-laying track is but one of the hundreds of ways we can enjoy this hobby. Personally, I enjoyed it.