It's actually the prince. The once and forever king is timing.

If you get pithy, insightful, argued, or just convenient comment in on a top story before it becomes a top story, you'll see an order of magnitude more points rolling your way than if you contribute research or elucidation in a day-old thread. A similar situation happens with submissions - you need reasonable content, but it can die with 1 point if the timing or title don't hit the sweet spot.

Content functions only as a high-pass filter.

Good explanation! Timing -as always- is boss.