[mikekchar]

I think there may be another way to look at it (even though I'm not actually a massive fan of the way VC works). The "if you don't play, you can't win" argument is a fool's errand if your chances of winning are miniscule. However, if you've already decided to play you're going to need an attitude that ignores your tiny chances of success -- otherwise you are likely to get disheartened and quit.

[JasonFruit]

That's a reasonable interpretation. If you play, you probably won't win — but if you're going to play, give it all you've got.