I think an unfortunate reality of the modern world is that it wasn't built with most of us in mind. Humans aren't meant to be caged and forced into voluntary slavery. On top of that everybody's just reproducing way too much and expecting each and every person to achieve the very best. Competition has always been in human nature but we're genuinely in the most dystopian hellscape humanity has ever seen.
I'm not saying life a thousand years ago was easier, but if you wanted to go off into the wilderness and homestead and not be bothered by anybody, it was as easy as working for a month or two, buying your tools, and doing it. Minimum wage can't even pay for a one bedroom apartment anymore, and if I move to somewhere where they're cheaper there isn't any work.
I had all of the odds stacked entirely against me growing up and ended up successful with a great paying job, but the pressure of having to keep that up or lose everything I worked so hard for is daunting and I cracked. Untreated mental illness and a poor choice in friends led to me developing a severe drinking habit and I'm gonna lose that job. You really need to have a specific mentality to keep going onwards and upwards in this life. Most of us are going to end up miserable.
I just wish "only the strong survive" was a phrase that was still applicable. Anybody can survive these days, actually getting to live is hard and dying is hard as fuck. Who would have thunk it