That’s basically what I’ve been saying. Some people have natural talent, others don’t. The talent, or skill, or genetics, whatever you want to call it, combined with hard work, dedication, practice, etc, can elevate those people to heights that others, who are not “blessed”

in the same way, simply cannot reach, regardless of how much effort, practice, and hard work they put in. Like you say, the natural ability is the icing on the cake, but it does help, especially when talking about micro-gains at the pointy end of the leaderboards.