And that's fine.
It's easy to get discouraged when we think about engaging in some kind of activity (especially a competitive one) and we see the masters at the top of the class, knowing full well we'll never be able to perform at that level. That's demoralizing and deters a lot of people from ever attempting the activity in the first place. Is this a toxic trap we let ourselves fall into? I'd argue this is the case.
Is this a cultural issue?
Many people have it in their head that if they aren't the best at something then it isn't worth doing. But how can someone peak right out of the gate? That's not how it works. The best way to improve is to experience failure, be it muscular or mentally. Our body and mind connections become hardened and stronger during the recovery phase. Doesn't matter if it's going to the gym or playing chess. The theory is the same.
Practice makes perfect.
The interesting thing about getting better at an activity is that at a certain point there are diminishing returns on simply doing the thing. You can't get better at football by just playing the game. You can't get better at art by just drawing whatever. There comes a tipping event in which certain specific aspects are more difficult than others. We have to specifically practice what we're bad at repetitively rather than just trying to wing it.
Ladder anxiety.
This post I wrote in 2021 will always be relevant. People have a tendency to get inside their own heads and fear failure more than anything else. It is this fear of failure that paralyzes the mind into complete inaction, which is even worse than failure on a logistical level, but on an emotional level we rationalize it. The brain is not rational. This is nothing new but is still worth reiterating.
They make it look so easy!
The interesting thing about watching others perform their craft is that we often have no idea how much skill is involved unless we've actually tried to do that thing ourselves. "Oh I could do that. No problem." No, you can't. Try it. The only way to have a higher respect for a mastered craft is to actually make at least one attempt ourselves. Expectations and reality are rarely ever in sync.
AI further complicates the issue.
I see a disturbing trend on the horizon. So many of the science fiction books I discounted as ridiculous are suddenly becoming a reality. Specifically I keep going back to Foundations. A future in which the old technology is better than the new technology and nobody knows how it works, let alone how to recreate it.
I always thought this was far-fetched but now with AI on the horizon it becomes clear that machine learning can allow a computer to become a master at many tasks. This creates a negative feedback loop. The computer ascends to the top of the class because it learns from the best humans and can be infinitely cloned. This will discourage many people from performing those same tasks. At a certain point the AI can't get better because their is no one left to train it. Whether it will play out like this is yet to be seen, but the possibility is there, and it is a disturbing opening trend.
Conclusion
The need to compete is a potentially toxic or required trait in humanity depending on the context. At the end of the day it doesn't matter if one person does a thing. Humanity itself can't get anything great accomplished without thousands or even millions of people working together (usually indirectly via the economy). Glorifying the heroes or the famous is a counterproductive activity.
I would encourage anyone with an interest in anything to stop being a spectator and get out there and participate. There's nothing to lose.