I've dabbled in climbing, always with rope. I would like to think that anyone doing a free climb would first do it on rope, so as to map the route and be fairly confident they could make the free climb. I would still never do a free climb, ever. I can see the allure, feeling like you could die at any moment is a unique feeling. For most people though, the survival instinct is strong enough to overcome wanting that feeling, one tiny mistake is all it takes. Maybe these people haven't seen much death, so they don't know how quickly it can happen. I've seen many, many people die, in many different ways. Never have I seen a "pretty" death. Even the "peaceful" ones aren't very palatable. Of course when I was younger, I'm sure I took bigger chances than now. Live and learn I guess, but you have to live to do that. In our job most think, that won't happen to me, and I'm sure many thrill seekers feel that same way. IMO, being young and single as opposed to having a family makes a bit of difference also.