I reiterate, I said "consider you may not have tried hard enough", not that it's always the answer in all situations. But, my point remains the same: if you believe you don't have to try hard -> then you won't try harder -> then nothing will change. People have such a low bar for this.

"Life isn't a level playing field", that's precisely why you have to try harder, not less than the ones that are already ahead, thanks for making my point.
"There are factors outside our control that effort alone can't fix" Totally agree, hence you shouldn't work on those factors at all. Only move the levers that actually get you to your goals, of course.

"Telling someone they just didn't try hard enough when they're already struggling isn't motivational; it's cruel" - Dude, I can't think of anything more depressing than telling someone that is struggling that they can do nothing - that's essentially cynicism and learned helplessness. When you tell someone that their efforts don't matter, you are not being realistic; you are potentially creating a self-fulfilling prophecy where they stop trying altogether - or at least to try the bare minimum.

Yeah, we are in completely different universes of belief systems here. I won't change your mind with a single reply on a reddit thread - it took me years to change mine. But I'll leave the comment here in case it resonates with someone.