Granted I only have 5 decades of perspective but I have noticed people who get lucky tend to be the ones who dont quit.

The ones who quit tend to call those who dont quit lucky.

And those who don’t quit and still die in the gutter? “Lack of hustle”?

Your five decades is a drop in the bucket of human experience. I recommend more empathy and introspection on suffering of your fellow human.

I am not the only person with this perspective. Some very accomplished people agree with me.

“Shallow men believe in luck or in circumstance. Strong men believe in cause and effect.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

You don't know that dying in a gutter was actually better than the other option for their life.

Emerson received a substantial inheritance from his first wife's estate, which gave him built-in income of about $30k/year (inflation adjusted).

Lucky people often prefer to pretend it was all hard work, but that kind of financial cushion makes a big difference.

You saying he lucked into a marriage ?

Marriage is work. This I do know.

The ones that die from medical conditions because they can't afford treatment you don't "notice" at all, since they are dead and gone.