You’ll stay with a sport longer if you’re having fun. Focusing on the play aspect more than just the winning is the way to do it.
Unless you’re a professional athlete who’s paid to win, you can step back and enjoy the playful part of your sport. Professionals are different, their participation at the pro level comes with an expiration date. It’s not very long compared to the participation window for amateurs, which can be for decades.
You need other players in some sports just to play the game. And it’s our nature to compete, but sport doesn’t need to be treated as a war, it’s a game you’re playing .
You can play without obsessing with winning or playing to lose, just play to play. By keeping it playful and not escalating it into something more than it is, you’ll be more likely to do your sport longer.
I used to run a lot, for about 15 years before switching other sports. I’d meet other runners while running who frequently were hyper focused on say, a particular 10k race. I’d often see them out running until the race happened. Afterwards, they’d vanish. They weren’t running for fun, it wasn’t a playful thing for them and they’d stop.
Usually you’re better off pursuing and cultivating appreciation more than achievement. If you like a sport and want to keep doing it for a long time concentrate on the play.