If you don't have the skill to find another place and time - and it is a different, distinct skill which can depend on social and economic capital for the search - the one chance may be all you get. It doesn't necessarily speak to your capability or lack of it. For most of us, it's luck.
And it’s not for lack of skill or even ideas - often it’s time combined with luck.
The thing that causes me a lot of angst is that I used to feel like I was "on the frontier." Skating to where the puck is going.
These days? I am confused by where the puck ends up, and am left scratching my head.
They say "luck is the intersection of preparation and opportunity." As a straight white dude, opportunity is not my problem. But I increasingly find myself being ill-prepared for the weird places this industry is going. :/