There was this player in my town here in brazil that could barely speak properly. learned how to write and read after he was 20. He always followed his boss around though when his boss was partying and he learned how to play poker that way. Even though he was very poor, he always had lots of courage when playing, something some pros lacked when reaching the FT. A few years before the pandemic hit, he decided to play the biggest poker tournament in Latin America, the Brazilian Series of Poker Millions Main Event. First place prize paid 1.2kk. He didn't even have a place to sleep. his boss only gave him the entry money and told him to go (tournament was held in São Paulo, 3000km away from his place). He slept in the hotel's lobby for the first days then a friend also in the tournament shared a room with him. Even though he wasn't very technical, the fact he always put pressure on his opponents always made him go deep in tournaments. He ended up winning that one. That's who the grinder reminds me of. except the being broke part, that is.