And then he spent the next decade studying with every philosopher he could find, from theists, atheists, agnostics to materialists and then finally decided to figure things out on his own. Only during the last period before his enlightenment did he sit under a tree. His meditations would not have borne fruit without all the experiences that preceded it. Source: raised as a Buddhist.
I second this.
And let's not forget he pursued ascetic practices for six years and nearly starved to death[1], then he sat under a tree with a very particular goal in mind.
[1] He would later characterise these practices as a false path.
Buddhism originated from a wealthy prince, who enjoyed every aspect of upper-most human life, began to ponder why there miseries exists among humans.