As a pretty experienced instructor I think all pilots fall into two groups
1. Pilots who are better than they think, and
2. Pliots who think they are better than they really are
I think I am usually a group 1 pilot although I can say with authority when I got myself into tight spots I was usually acting like a group 2. In any case the group No 1 pilots will IMHO live longer. I should also add that flying hours are not an especially good indicator of ability. Some pilots have 5000 hours others have one hour 5000 times.