Playing By Myself

I'm in Gainesville, GA. I just played a show to a room of about 10 people, who wre seated interspersed through a restaraunt and eating, unaware that comedy was to take place. There were about 15 more people in the next room over (the bar.)
The TV's were left on during the show (this was at a sports bar/restaraunt.) Nobody paid anything to get in, and there was no advertisement for comedy whatsoever. The staff even seemed mildly surprised that there was to be a show.
The worst part is, they've been doing comedy like this at this restaraunt for months. Months. Not a couple of weeks, not a month, but four months. They've been relying on people wandering unsuspectingly into a "comedy show" to tell their friends and bring a crowd the next time.
I'd spent the last 4 nights playing a small, newly opened club in a small town in North Carolina. Not all of the shows were well attended (they're working on building an audience, though.)
Sunday night, not counting wait staff and the people performing (it was an open mic) there were only three audience members.
And it was an infinitely better show than tonight's. This was because the people cared that they were there to see comedy. They came to see comedy. They were performed to.
I'm a strong performer, and confident in my abilities. But when I'm put in front of an audience that is completely unsuspecting and totally blindsided by a live comedy performance, I'm just playing by myself onstage.
Sure, I got paid. But I could have been sleeping in my own bed tonight. I could have kissed my son goodnight, snuggled with my wife.
Instead, I'm in a hotel room in Georgia, playing by myself again.