>> Being a busker -- catching people's eyes, smiling as they give you money, playing engaging pieces, knowing the moment -- isn't entirely the same job as being a concert musician where the people came specifically to hear one. Also, the morning commute is not the same as the evening.<<

This is another very insightful observation: different job skills required. I remember being impressed once by the perfect stillness of a singer waiting for her solo ... you can't do that busking, people will ignore you. You have to engage; different buskers have all kinds of ways; and those are learned skills.