If applying to a job is a sign that you are not part of the "best candidates" then there is no hope, is there? ;)

That said, in this case it was via a recruiter so probably the recruiter reached out to potential candidates, so people who weren't necessarily actively looking.

There are people who aren’t actively looking. There are people who once they have a need to look, have many contacts who would jump at the chance to make an offer… or who have standing offers already if they want to leave. This makes it less likely they will be applying to posted listings.

I’ve had several former co-workers reach out over the years to see if I was looking to jump ship. My old boss also had a standing offer for me at his new place (though I heard he was recently let go, so that one’s a dead end now).