One of my high school piano friends went on to become a concert pianist. The difference between him and the rest of us was that music was everything for him - its what he did to relax, his social life, his hobby, his work, and his passion. There were, like, some months where music felt almost like that for me but for him it always did. I think there's no mysterious talent you have to have, just a psychological problem. if you get genuine fulfillment in all areas of life just by thinking about and doing music all the time, the ceiling is much higher.

Of course. I agree with you. You will only make it in that field if there’s literally nothing else you can imagine doing.

But there’s still a starting point and ceiling in intrinsic ability.

I’m curious why you think there’s no difference in inherent abilities? Some people are more “naturally” skilled at some things than others, at a baseline. You can look to see examples of this everywhere.

That doesn’t negate the dedication/sweat/tears of people who have high skill, but many of those people also started several miles ahead.