In another comment you shared a avenge bus driver salary as 44k/year. So by your statement, your friends would earn 4x that, meaning 176k/year while you said you earn 6x that at 264k/year.

Sorry, but something is wrong here. Either you're data/math is wrong, or you and your friends work in the top 1% FAANGs/big-tech jobs, because those tech salaries aren't the norm in Europe.

No, 44k for a bus driver is in Germany. I also saw job offers for SWE in Germany at 35k, though... To make a solid argument we would have to compare medians.

My loose impression is the median for regular SWEs in Germany is around 60k and for senior positions ca 80k. Whether this is demotivating or otherwise is a matter of personal attitude I think - the difference is not enormous but it is there.