Before I got to your last paragraph I was gonna point out that they dedicated plot lines in several episodes to this exact thing. In Best of “The Best of Both Worlds” Admiral Hansen explicitly points out “this is the third time we’ve offered him a command” and Shelby is none too quiet about it either.
And you know what, it’s totally believable. It’s fine for fictional characters to be just as illogical, emotional, and inconsistent as people are in real life. It’s also completely valid for Riker to say to himself and to others “You know what, this is a pretty good gig and one to be proud of. I’m the XO of the most advanced and prestigious ship in the Federation working with a great captain and crew, and I’m in no hurry to be promoted to captain just because it’s what I’m ‘supposed’ to do”.
Before I got to your last paragraph I was gonna point out that they dedicated plot lines in several episodes to this exact thing. In Best of “The Best of Both Worlds” Admiral Hansen explicitly points out “this is the third time we’ve offered him a command” and Shelby is none too quiet about it either.
And you know what, it’s totally believable. It’s fine for fictional characters to be just as illogical, emotional, and inconsistent as people are in real life. It’s also completely valid for Riker to say to himself and to others “You know what, this is a pretty good gig and one to be proud of. I’m the XO of the most advanced and prestigious ship in the Federation working with a great captain and crew, and I’m in no hurry to be promoted to captain just because it’s what I’m ‘supposed’ to do”.