True, but my point is that merit only takes you so far. If you really want to “make it”, you need merit AND an underlying freedom to take risks. If what you ha

True, but my point is that merit only takes you so far. If you really want to “make it”, you need merit AND an underlying freedom to take risks. If what you have is the only means of survival, your appetite for risk is strongly diminished. So when someone claims that “you would have made it if you took risks” is a little two-faced.