I've played pinball for most of my life, and definitely agree with this. At a certain point the physicality is not reproducible—there are too many layers to it

I've played pinball for most of my life, and definitely agree with this. At a certain point the physicality is not reproducible—there are too many layers to it. No two machines are identical, and they change over time. The state of the playfield, including when it was cleaned/waxed, the strength of the flippers, and everything else about the machine impact play in ways which good players can and do account for. For instance, it's possible to anticipate how much english is on the ball when it comes off a rubber at an angle and how it will react when it hits the next surface, but it won't be consistent between machines, so you need to play enough to get a read on it. Great players can do this quickly, and then adjust their play accordingly. It's bit like rebounding in basketball in that you have to anticipate where the ball is going to bounce based on very small trajectory deltas, but the advantage is you can move the machine.