Generally good post FTS, and in principle I agree with much of what you said in your opener. However, with that in mind, I was a relatively late starter in aviation (age 28 at the time), already married with two kids. As such, I was never going to impose the "up north" rite of passage on my family, and stayed in the big smoke. In spite of all that, I'm still flying jets for the majors. It just took me a bit longer, that's all. And just like you said, there will always be exceptions to the rule.
At the risk of blowing my own trumpet (which is not my intention, as I consider myself a strictly average, garden variety line driver), nevertheless I have never considered failure a genuine option. Sure there were occasions through the years when it wore me down, but I never doubted my own abilities - and always believed I would be up to the task if given the opportunity.
One of the big problems as I see it, is when a person's desire exceeds their ability, or to put it another way: they think that just because they want it, they should get it. Fuelled by hype from their flight training provider, they convince themselves they've got "the right stuff," when they're probably never going to be top notch pilot material. It's like watching some of those people who audition for "Idol" or "The X Factor," who can't sing for nuts, but in their own minds think they're the latest and greatest. When they bomb out at the audition, they lash out at the judges with furious indignation when their "talent" isn't acknowledged, even though their lack of talent is cringeworthy.
Maybe this is a simplistic view, but natural selection and survival of the fittest tends to ensure that those who eventually make it to an airline are there because they should be. And the opposite is also true. Of course, we all know there are exceptions to that rule as well.
