I once saw an interview with a national (international, maybe?) Olympian in high school.
He was asked something along the lines of „How did you get to this result?”.
His answer: It takes a lot of work, a lot of work.
I think it’s not enough.
To be successful, you need a combination of three things, in my opinion: put in a lot of work (be dedicated and serious in work), have some natural skills, and be in the right context (country, economic context, history time).
With any of these, you can get results, but a combination of two or even three makes it shine.
I don’t think that mere work solves any issue. Even in learning Mathematics, you need some talent; not anyone can become an Olympian, no matter how hard they try.
