This. For me, I changed completely. Things I used to find stressful became water on a duck's back. Things I thought were catastrophic became small. When you bond with your baby, whatever was the most important thing to you gets supplanted. It sounds like that would negatively impact your performance but my performance improved. I became more consistent, more reliable.

My boss knew me for years before the birth of my children and has a few more years after to compare. He tells me he witnessed no less than a transformation.

I feel like I could have 'timed' it better. I feel I could have saved more and all of that. But then I wouldn't be the type of person who cared about those things until I became a father.

Having children really changes you as an individual, especially as you start your family. Your priorities become different and I think both of you are correct in mentioning the motivation for providing and creating a safe environment for the family unit really arises in the individual, almost innately.