That's kinda the point. He pushes for donations, but doesn't offer support. It's not illegal for him to not offer support and it's not illegal for me to not pay him.
I would prefer to pay a reasonable subscription fee with a support contract which is also not illegal, but benefits all parties.
I do make contributions to some projects (can't support them all), but if the project is being too pushy, they can count me out. The idea that I can get support in return is just a nicer model of exchange. There's a good chance that I won't even use that support, but it's nice to know that my contributions have a direct impact on how usable the project is for my needs.
I would prefer to pay a reasonable subscription fee with a support contract which is also not illegal, but benefits all parties.