from what I've seen, having one parent who is already a science academic, and another parent who is a school teacher, combined with financial security, an excellent primary and secondary education, proximity to tier-1 research university, a small amount of adversity, a lot of hard work/preparation for tedium and toil.

I worked at a tutoring center many years ago and I remember being handed an admin's computer with student data (enrollment, tuition, etc). There was one student whose parents spent at least $50,000 on the program. This is just an after school program to help kids with their homework...

I can imagine that if you're getting that much support while you're in high school, you'll most likely always succeed in academics. Meanwhile we have political conversations with people who can't even acknowledge inequity.

This isn't to say that wealth is sufficient for talent and great work. I don't want to take away from anyone's achievements. But it definitely seems necessary sometimes...