In “the hidden life of trees” the author talks about forests being stronger than individual trees. Which I believe agrees with your conclusion. As a tree you d

In “the hidden life of trees” the author talks about forests being stronger than individual trees. Which I believe agrees with your conclusion. As a tree you don’t want to get dwarfed, starved and die. But you also don’t want to kill your neighbors either since they could be providing a wind break and helping you survive. Essentially their evolution has taught them that sharing, within reason, is an optimal strategy than pure greed. The book goes into much more detail. I’m paraphrasing.