>>People aren't walking around with gobs of unused ability; they're usually performing about where they're able

>My experience has been the opposite. I think most people are underperforming to their potential, mostly because

> they lack social connections or

> [they lack] knowledge to capitalize on it, or

> [they lack knowledge to] even begin to take the first steps to capitalizing on it.

You make reasonable points about the things they lack today. Without them, people are doing what they can.

Upon accumulation (of those things), different options would then be within their reach.

That said, I suspect what you're trying to address here isn't ability but improvement.