I know, I know, not an elder, but just speaking from my experience (elder's wife for 30 years in the borg). No, it was not being an elder that woke us up. But accumulating all the harshness over the years did make me think about what was really important in life. And I think it is how we treat others. Especially the ones down.
The thing that sealed it for me was reading CoC. It summarrized all the doubts I had and it helped that Ray had been a GB member. He was very honest in his writings.
I'm sure there will be plenty of elders and xelders that will comment on your topic. Be patient. They'll come.
Joy