Emotional victory?

So I was cruising around at even last night when, at a deep table, I raise from EP with 44 and am 3bet small by a tight MP player. Relative stacks are 200bb and this guy's seemed very active, so I call. Flop comes 45J. I lead out for something like $42, he snapcalls. Turn is a Q, which I didn't like, but I lead out for $100 or so and snapcall when he insta-shoves. He shows AKs and the river spikes his ten. He said later that he put me on AJ and was just trying to push me off of it. Terrible play.

At the same time I catch 22 on a 237 flop as the preflop aggressor and bet into a guy from oop on the flop and turn, before the river makes the board 23457 with a possible flush. I desperately try to block for $88 or so and fold to an insta minraise.

With some other natural variance I'm down $800 very early.

Over the next 3 hours, I manage to build my way up, step by step, to the point where I'm only losing $160. Finally exhausted there, I call a halt to the night and felt good about it.

I think most people, even many experienced poker players, have no idea how much money gets passed back and forth in non-skill pots.