One little-appreciated fact is that many of the most accomplished and knowledgable engineers were tinkerers from an early age. If you start your computing journey at the age of 18 with a compsci degree, you might already be a decade behind some of your peers.
It’s not too different from pro tennis players, who typically start playing before the age of 8.
For those at the top of the game, computing is a calling as much as a job. They will do substantial learning on their own initiative.
You might be a decade behind, but there's still diminishing returns kicking in hard even just a few years in. That's disregarding inefficient learning and what else which may close the gap further.
Your latter point is far more important to the matter. Those who treat it as a passion more so than a job, are more likely to be the trendsetters. Growing up and being free from responsibilities makes it easier for that thing to become your passion.
And let's also not forget, a few decades ago, computers weren't exactly a cheap thing for parents with little understanding to let their kids tinker with at will. Being born in a family with enough wealth to get a computer, enough wealth / understanding to let a kid tinker with it, was an immense boon. A long with anything that type of family tends to have going for it alongside wealth. It's not that far-fetched an idea that it's the other things, rather than the early age interest of the kid itself, that got them into such a position later in life.
If at least was able to purchease a home I wouldnt have this pressure.
I guess in the US is different because people have higher salaries.
You have to have the time/resources to dive that deep. Or maybe it's your job, line some of the folks in a local company that work in hard problems.
But even they are not that well payed.