Other than for junior roles, being able to code is a given. Public image, or more accurately, proven productivity, is a much better measure of skill than looking at a code sample.
I’m not looking to fund my hobby of converting Cycles to a spectral renderer. There is little need for it in Cycles as it stands and there are very few people who would pay for it - it would be a very poor choice of employment for me at this stage, and would ruin the fun of developing it. This is completely in line with my theory. People do what gets them paid.
Patreon wouldn’t solve it, that was my point. Having development funded by individuals who get exclusive access to the results, well, that works, but it causes exclusivity and segregates the community. That’s what I hope to avoid with any system which aims to help freelance development of Blender.