[Infernal]

A theory I've heard on this topic is that until recently, evolutionarily speaking, it was realistically possible to be the "best X" that you and your compatriots were aware of, in some field, for some X. The best musician, basket weaver, mechanic, farmer, carpenter, parent, what have you - because the maximum number of people you could realistically compare yourself to was probably in the four figure range, tops, and likely closer to the low hundreds for most of human history.

Now, with global awareness being exposed to the best of billions of people, it is not realistic to aspire to be the "best" of anything. I don't think we're close to understanding the full impact of the removal of this particular incentive.