Hussar
Legend
You're kinda missing my point. My point is that there are absolutely players who have zero problems with their decisions not mattering. They have no problem whatsoever being lockstep shuffled from one encounter to the next without any input. These players most certainly do exist and they aren't rare. I've seen players like this come across my table over and over again, regardless of age or edition.Sure, players often like to be given direction "This way to the epic story ->" but they don't like to feel that there decisions don't matter. And eventually even the most biddable players are going to make a decision that the AP writer didn't anticipate. The longer the path, the more likely that becomes. An experienced DM will deal with that and create new content that reacts to the new timeline, but some DMs will try to force the party to follow WHAT IS WRITTEN DOWN.
When you have players like that, presenting them with choices is actually counter productive. Faced with a choice, they basically shut down and look at you, waiting for you to tell them which way to go. They are there to experience the ride and expect the DM to provide the experience. They have zero interest in "creating stories" or any form of authorship at all.
Hell, there's even a term for it - pawn stance play.