I ride an eBike because I am as old as dirt and in poor health. It lets me commute car-free (even most days in the Winter here in New England) for less than 20¢ worth of electricity per day. I still see way more than I would in a car. In fact I've discovered five little brooks on my route in to work that I'd never noticed from the seat of a car. Although I love my job, my rides to and from work are the best part of my day. Having an eBike makes this all do-able for me.
I still pedal when I can but I don't think of the eBike as a tool for cheating. Simply put, for me it would be an eBike or no bike (i.e. a car).
I have three different ways to get in to work: hilly, hillier, and hilliest. I would have to walk a bike up the worst part of any of them. The mid-drive Optibike I got will happily climb any of them; in fact on the merely hilly route, I don't even have to drop down to the smallest chainring on this bike's touring triple.
Reddy Kilowatt