...or the 4-year-old chess prodigy, or the 5-year-old composer.
As an amateur chess player, I don't find it depressing -- although more likely I use it as an excuse. I know that there are kids out there who started out with a significantly-higher ranking within a year of playing than I will ever get to as an adult. (That said, many those same kids will eventually go on to put in tens of thousands of more hours than me.)
I guess the part that's slightly depressing is that, even if I slog and slog, and raise my ranking up by a bit, it will always feel like winning by perspiration, and not by divine inspiration. But I think it's fine for me to say "this isn't my game, I will play it so long as it's fun, but I won't ever be a genius at it."
As an amateur chess player, I don't find it depressing -- although more likely I use it as an excuse. I know that there are kids out there who started out with a significantly-higher ranking within a year of playing than I will ever get to as an adult. (That said, many those same kids will eventually go on to put in tens of thousands of more hours than me.)
I guess the part that's slightly depressing is that, even if I slog and slog, and raise my ranking up by a bit, it will always feel like winning by perspiration, and not by divine inspiration. But I think it's fine for me to say "this isn't my game, I will play it so long as it's fun, but I won't ever be a genius at it."