Riding the Wheel is the ultimate in active engagement with life's many twists and turns. Life is a gamble. As the Hermit echoes the Fool, the Wheel of Fortune echoes the Juggler. But the Juggler is unflective, he doesn't yet see the big picture. The Wheel of Fortune is the reminder that all worldly success is transient, that the cycle of birth and death goes on without end, always coming back on itself.
Progress is an illusion.
This recognition of futility can lead to cynicism, a mindset perhaps superficially similar to the Hermit's detachment, but ultimately of a very different character. The cynic still identifies with the motion of the Wheel, feeling its ups and downs, and comparing its capricious gyrations against an imagined ideal of progress and reward. Both the Hermit and the Wheel of Fortune represent humbling experiences. On the Wheel, life is cruel. The Hermit avoids those heartaches, but at the great cost of nonparticipation.