In all sports I believe what separates the best from the rest in having the God given talent AND working hard to hone that talent. Those who have one or the other comprise the "rest". Hard work can make up for natural ability but it's not too often that natural ability can over come lack of work ethic. In general I would guess that it comes to 40% ability, 40% work and 20% mental toughness in a perfect world. I use Sean Rash as an example a lot. It's not that I don't like or respect his ability but rather because I see an athlete that SHOULD be dominating his era with his ability and work ethic yet lacks the metal toughness to do so. If ever a bowler needed a sports psychologist, it Rash.
Part of my ability percentage is brain power. That's knowing your own capabilities, staying in your area of expertise (Duke doesn't crank when he doesn't need to) and being smart enough to identify and work on weaknesses.
Some of us, the general public, may work hard enough yet not have enough ability to ever reach elite status. That's where 80% work can not make up for 5% ability. However, I do believe that 50% work can make up for 30% ability but not much more than that.
Did I answer the question or just ramble too much?
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