But that airline pilot has been failing on a regular basis for years.

He learned to fly in a little single engine plane, and routinely recovered it from stalls and even spins. His instructor would have him close his eyes, then throw the plane out of balance and have him attempt to correct it by feel (and he'd often fail to do so). He's crashed that very jet you're riding in dozens or even hundreds of times in the simulator. He's even recovered a real one from a stall during his certification.

The only reason he's good enough to be trusted to fly with you in the back is because he's been training to failure all those years.