Yep. Same vibe as old legends about the glory of battle. They exist because the most powerful people are trying to motivate cannon fodder.

You see the personal impact of success in whatever environment exaggerated for similar reasons. For example, good grades worth something, and doing either really badly or better than average has consequences, but there’s diminishing returns on very high or low levels beyond that. From what I’ve seen in my life, nepotism, luck, schmoozing skills and the right temperament are all worth substantially more than crazy high grades. That is not what I was told and believed in school.