Absolutely. I’m happy to.
The mishna which states ??? ????? ???? ?? ??? ??? is read in different ways. It refers to either working to earn a living, or to having good midos. I’ll quote the meiri whom I just found by searching bar ilan:
??? ?????? ??? ?? ??? ????? ????? ????? ??? ?? ????? ????? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ????? ???? ?? ??? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ??????? ??????? ??????? ??? ?? ??? ???? ???? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ????? ??? ????? ????? ?? ???? ???? ???? ???? ????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ???? ????? ???? ???????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ????? ???? ?? ?? ???? ???? ???? ??”? ??? ???? ???? ??? ????? ???? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ???? ???? ???????? ?????? ????? ???? ???? ?? ???”? ???? ????? ??????
??? ???? ??? ??? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ????? ????? ??? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ??? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ??????? ????? ????? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ???
(There are two interesting points to note in this meiri.
First, the reason he says that work is necessary is that this way you will not need to steal for food- this implies it may not be as necessary if there is a welfare system which will feed you.
Second, the reason he says that middos avoid aveiros is that the people you give tochacha to will respect you, and will not dig up your aveiros, so they will be “hidden.”)
The phrase “??? ??? ???? ?????,” is a paraphrase from ????? ??? ?:
?”? ??? ??? ?”? ???? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? ??? ??? ???? ????? ????? ?”? ???? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ???? ????? ??? ???? ????? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ???? ?”? ?? ???? ?”? ???? ???? ?????? ?”? ??? ?? ??? ?? ???? ??? ?? ?”? ??? ?”? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ????? ?? ????? ?”? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ?? ?”? ??? ?????? ??? ?”? ?? ??? ????? ??? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ??????? ????? (????? ??) ???? ??? ??? ??? ????? ???? ???? ????? ???? ???? ??? ???? ??? ??? ???? ???? ?”? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ??? ?? ????? ?? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ???? ???????? ??? ?? ??? ??? ????? ???? ??????? ?”? ?? ??? ??? ??? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ??? ??”? ?????? ?? ?? ???? ????? ???? ????? ???? ??? ??? ?? ????? ??”? (?????? ?) ????? ?? ??? ?? ????? ??? ?? ??? ??? ???”? ?? ????? ?? ????, ????? ???? ????? ?”? ???? ?? ??? ?? ??????? ??????? ?? ???”? ?????? ?? ????? (????? ?) ???? ??????? ???.
As you can see, it is clearly talking about having good middos.
The OP assumed the reading of the mishna in avos was that it referred to working. If it does, then the medrash of kodmoh l’torah which refers to having good middos is not related at all.