Fully agree. Another important skill—a lot harder to learn let alone teach—is how to leverage their varied life skills & prior work experience. Years or even decades working / doing things other than academia _should_ not be totally irrelevant it often feels it is.

(PS: And it’s probably impolite to say this to an Arsenal fan but to an extent, isn’t this also the difference between League & Cup success?)

Indeed. Perhaps it’s just that it’s harder to fake it over a long, gruelling contest than a short, sharp one. Easier to fluke a one-off T20; less so a five Test series. The best have more opportunity to shine. Ceteris paribus, of course. & I know most US election cycles are a solid counterargument.