“Deserved” might not be the right word, or is carrying serious weight.

All I can say from my personal experience is that I’ve noticed major widespread improvements when I A) got in visibly good shape and B) became confident in my professional career and abilities. I behaved differently as a result of my confidence, and it is clear as day to me, including the more positive results it delivers.

My angsty nervous young adult self, completely unconfident, was working against me. I don’t think I “deserved” that in any retributive sense, but yeah, I can see how people respond differently to confident people vs perpetually negative doubters. It’s no one’s fault, it’s not cruelty, it’s just how social humans work in large part (not all cases, of course, but most)