What tribes did with people who couldn’t pull their weight is an empirical question that varies per tribe per time. But, I think you’re essentially correct, and

What tribes did with people who couldn’t pull their weight is an empirical question that varies per tribe per time. But, I think you’re essentially correct, and far from being a gotcha, your observation that going out on the vision quest didn’t necessarily mean you were coming home, I think is exactly where a lot of power of the role came from. You go out to fight dragons, and most people die fighting dragons.