How do you stay motivated?

So I've been in my current role for almost a year and I'm finding it very difficult to go to work in the morning. I'm part of a team that manages a pretty huge infrastructure covering half of the state. Since it is a huge infrastructure, there is lots of red tape to implement the simplest of changes. I'd say 90% of my work is convincing management that changes are necessary and documenting everything. The other 10% is anything technical.

I was encouraged to use my development skills to help manage the infrastructure. The problem is, every time I propose a project, the general question is, "Well, SquishyFear, once you leave, who will maintain your software? No one here knows (Python, Java, C#, C++, etc.)." So the closest programming I've done is write a few PowerShell scripts and batch files.

This has resulted in me just feeling unmotivated. I'm also stuck in one of those deals where, if I leave before a certain date, I have to pay back signing bonuses.

So please, share how you stay motivated in a System Administration role?