> Am I missing this, or are you assuming that I am incapable of finding opportunities myself

Somewhat, yes. It has nothing to do with you. Some opportunities you can create yourself, go for it. Other opportunities only arise in the context of leadership meetings you are not a part of (by definition, if you're not the manager). Having a manager in those meeting push for your opportunities is priceless.

Having had many managers who don't do this for me and a few that do, definitely want the second kind.