People stay average because they've invested their entire identity in being average. Their whole life is built around not standing out. Safe job, opinions, everything. Then you come along actually trying to win and it threatens everything they believe about themselves. Because if you succeed, it proves they had a choice. That they could've done it too but chose comfort instead. That's why people discourage you. Not because they think you'll fail. Because they're terrified you'll succeed and remind them they gave up. Your success is proof they wasted time. And people hate being reminded of that. So they'll call you lucky/got in early. Anything to avoid admitting they chose wrong. Let them. You keep moving.