"the guy who sponsored the fellow who did get promoted managed to get my ranking knocked down so I wasn't competing with his fellow for ED." You're working at

"the guy who sponsored the fellow who did get promoted managed to get my ranking knocked down so I wasn't competing with his fellow for ED." You're working at a toxic place and putting your own self worth up to them for measurement - this is not healthy. People out of school until age 35 sometimes have a hard time truly separating their work from their professional identities, something we could all work on. So sorry for your losses, I wish you well.