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.