Everything has a cost, especially time. They may have agency to improve their situation, but the time scale to do so (due to lack of savings, location, or what

Everything has a cost, especially time. They may have agency to improve their situation, but the time scale to do so (due to lack of savings, location, or whatever) may be ridiculous. People also have incomplete information; they could burn their resources to change your situation over the course of a decade and ultimately end up in a far worse situation. It only takes a few cycles of this for someone's time to actually run out. Agency is necessary but insufficient.