LH- I just finished the wonderful biography by Sounes, in which he surmises that Dylan is in fact a modern-day wandering troubador, like the balladeers of ages past. That is just his persona, and he does it because it is what makes him feel alive. He practically doesn't know what to do when he is not traveling and performing. I think that makes sense- as you said, it must be what he was born to do.