This study investigates the challenges of music teachers in Tibetan primary schools through the lens of the Social Ecology of Burnout framework, focusing on intrapersonal, interpersonal, institutional, and policy-level factors. Drawing on data from four focus groups comprising 28 participants, the findings reveal pervasive conditions of (a) marginalization of music education, (b) structural barriers and resource limitations, (c) overwork, role overload, and (d) burnout emotional impact and professional identity crisis. Teachers reported being frequently reassigned to teach non-music subjects, excluded from training and evaluation systems, and burdened with extensive non-teaching responsibilities within a context of limited resources and exam-driven educational priorities. These structural and relational stressors erode instructional quality and foster what we conceptualize as “nomadic” professional identities—fragmented, unstable, and disconnected from teachers’ musical expertise. Rather than an individual coping deficit, burnout emerges as a structural phenomenon embedded in institutional cultures and policy-driven accountability systems that privilege tested subjects in rural, minority-populated regions. We conclude that the ecological interplay of marginalization across multiple levels sustains a cycle of burnout, calling for structural reforms that recognize and support the specialized role of music educators in rural and minority-populated regions. We argue that addressing this cycle requires systemic change: safeguarding music’s curricular status, integrating arts educators into recognition and promotion systems, and ensuring equitable resource allocation.