I can’t speak for someone else, but I can speak of how I see it.

In a group, it can be different due to your awareness of the other riders around you.

But riding solo over the same routes over and over, hundreds and hundreds of times, generally does not lend itself to “taking in the scenery” per se. There are sections that can be a bit sketchy with cars, long stretches of monotony (same telephone poles, open areas, etc), fun downhills, etc.

It may not be just staring at the front wheel, but I know the grinding over the same miles, looking at the road and my computer. And there are also really cool sections that you really take in.

But, there are also miles that are just ridden pretty obliviously, except for the splits. For some it becomes point a, point b, etc.

John