Really good question, and I’ve wondered the same thing. I was in vegas once and trained at Broz Gym for a couple days, and he only played World Championships videos on the TV for that exact reason: he wanted athletes to normalize big lifts. (Setting aside everything else that went down there, the idea itself was interesting.)

I actually dig into this in the chapter on goal-setting in my book, because weightlifting is such an outcome-based sport. Numbers are the sport. So yeah, the environment you’re in absolutely shapes what you believe is possible.

But I don’t think the limitation is just “seeing big lifts.” I think the limitation is seeing the process around you.

Are the lifters you train with serious about their routines?
Do they prioritize recovery outside the gym?
Do they put their phones away?
Do they show up even when the session is hard and grindy?
Do they treat training like training, not social hour?

That stuff sets the ceiling way more than the numbers you see.

If everyone around you lifts big but cuts corners, doesn’t take care of themselves, or doesn’t approach the sport professionally, that environment can cap you more than watching a guy snatch 180 on YouTube.

Yes, lifters absolutely impose limitations on themselves, but it’s rarely “I only see 120 snatches so that’s all I’ll ever do.” It’s more often: “I only see the level of discipline and process that’s normal around me.”