Just a guess, but it is highly probable most terrorists want to live.
Perhaps, but built into the mix from the day they are born is that to die for the “cause” is to get into heaven.
Islam does not have a “get into heaven free card” accept Jesus as your savior and you are saved clause. Being a good and devout Muslim does not guarantee entry, only being a martyr does that , and that is a powerful motivator.
The leadership, seem less likely to look for martyrdom(they like the globull warming types) deem themselves too important to the cause but are more than willing to sacrifice others.
I have often said that those of us in the west can’t comprehend a mother praising god that their child blew themselves up in an ice cream shop for their religion, so we try to come up with something else to explain it, like mental illness, society, racism, poverty…. Sometimes what they say and do is exactly what they mean.
Till we as a whole understand this, things will not change