is ego wanting

There is no ego, as such. What is often referred to as “ego” is a way of being, which is oriented to identity — wherein one identifies completely with some idea about oneself and uses that identity as the basis for behaviour, for direction in acting out a role written by oneself and others, to express the conceived idea as a way of life. It is a way of being an identity, a persona, a character. And this character wants things.
The wanting is based upon a lack. The lack is a spur — a way of motivating action. What is the action? To get what one wants. But the object of one’s want is an horizon ever receding from arrival. You can never get to it. And that’s the point, really. Not getting to it ensures you are always motivated to go towards it. This strengthens the persona, which can feel powerful (even when it feels wrong) and can hypnotize the actor into believing in it totally.
It can happen that one does not even see that one is playing a role, that one is an actor in a play, and one believes the role and the play are reality. There is, thereby, never any (lasting) satisfaction.
The point is, if you want something, it’s because you believe you are lacking or missing something. This can be benign, of course (I want a pizza), but it can also be the source of much suffering.