For balance, I feel obligated to chime in as someone who prefers sex with condoms. However, maintaining my erections (condom or no) is not something I tend to struggle with, to be fair.
A few thoughts:
Deciding to have unprotected sex for "emotional" reasons is pure lunacy. There's no emotion strong enough to prevent a sexually transmitted infection. The only reason I'd ever go unwrapped again is if I were trying to make a baby, which . . . not likely.
Gonorrhea is a bitch! There's nothing like turning your wing-wang into a constantly oozing puss-faucet to teach someone the value of safer sex.
There are also crazy common STDs that don't always present with noticeable symptoms, like HPV. 1 in 15 Americans has HPV and 1 in 2 sexually active people will contract it at some point in their life. I had a close friend who got Chlamydia and HPV from her "committed, monogamous" relationship. I stayed up all night with her while she cried her eyes out, worried sick that she was going to develop cervical cancer. Thankfully, she dodged a bullet.
Is the sensation of protected sex different from barebacking? Yes. Does it mean the difference between "I'm not enjoying this at all," vs "OMFG, this is SO HOTT!!! I'MGUNNACUM!!!! UNF, UNF, UNF!!!!" Uh, . . . no.
I have serious doubts about guys who claim they can't feel anything with a rubber on. Perhaps you suffer from death-grip-masturbation-induced loss of sensitivity? With a condom on, I can still feel warmth and texture. The only thing I can't feel is the moisture, which is a plus in my book. Less messy.
I suspect that going condomless is a fetish for a lot of people. They get a thrill out of being "naughty." I get that, and I wouldn't have any objections if it weren't for the fact that there are millions of people in this world suffering horrifically from STDs that could be stamped out in a generation or two if everyone would just wrap it up.