I don't think you've met many professional actors. Someone with a role on Broadway, even as a supporting actor with no dialog, is considered to have "made it".

I don't think you've met many professional actors. Someone with a role on Broadway, even as a supporting actor with no dialog, is considered to have "made it". An Off-Broadway or regional theater role pays something more like $500 a week. And even if you're good enough to land these gigs there's very limited stability as shows/casts rotate. Sure, not everyone works at Google, but the people who don't can still land jobs at a million different companies for a living salary. An actor who's not landing roles is working a survival job (waiter, barista, etc) so they can afford to spend time auditioning. And remember we're talking about somebody on the verge of homelessness -- they're going to have to compete with actors from wealthy families who paid for their rent and a degree from Juilliard.