What Do Upper 2600 and Lower 2700 Players Do for Living?

I'm assuming they don't make quite enough $$$ from chess, alone, to make a living off of the game.  Or, do they?

If not, what do they do for a living?  

If they have to spend a lot of time working some other type of job, doesn't that put them at a sort of permanent disadvantage for moving up in rating to be a full-time chess player?  

I figure the upper 2700's and 2800's just study and play all day without any other jobs.  

But if you're riiiiight at the brink of being a top 25 player, but have to work let's say 20-25 hours a week doing some other job to supplement your chess winnings for income, then doesn't wouldn't that be a kind of vicious cycle/trap?  You can't get better and keep up with the game as much, b/c you have to work some other job to pay the bills.  Yet, if you theoretically just had more time, then you could get better to move up and become a full-time player at the top levels and make enough to support yourself just from chess.  
Or, am I missing something?   

Players typically make that kind of choice early on. It's not like you're suddenly 2650 at 30 years old wondering what to do. Players like that are GMs before college and pick one or the other.

Yes, I get that players at that level probably realize they'll need income outside of chess or the risk they're taking if relying solely on it, but I'm saying doesn't it suck to be in a kind of vicious cycle of needing extra time to study and prep for chess to break into the elite (let's just say top 35 for the sake of discussion), where you can make a living off of it, yet you can't get that extra time b/c you're working to support yourself from non-chess playing work?

Hope that makes sense.  

I don't know why it's a vicious cycle to have a job and make money and play chess on the side. Like I said they make a choice, they're not stuck in the middle.

If you're asking if they regret it, or wonder what life might be like had they chosen differently, sure, I'm sure lots of people have thoughts and feelings like that.

Anyway, Kamsky played some candidates matches as an amateur. He didn't prep openings, just played bland stuff and beat people anyway because he was so good. I think he lost to Topolov at that time? But he was a top 10 or 15 player without being full time on chess. (This is when he was coming back after he retired to go to school.)

Still sucks to me to be right on the verge.  haha

If chess were more popular, then much more players could make a living off of just playing.  

I wonder how it compares to professional ping pong, video games players, pool players, bowlers, tennis, swimming, etc.?  

Is the viability of full-time chess player as a job the hardest to achieve amongst all competitive sports?  It seems you have to be top 30 in the entire world to really do that.   

I don't know