[afarrell]

> There is no equivalence between someone currently lacking programming skill and someone being too short for the NBA.

Agreed.

> You should encourage them to think in a healthy way about their current progress and encourage them to find ways to get better and allocate the resources needed for their growth.

Agreed.

> There is no equivalence between encouraging someone to improve and ignoring someone's self-concerns about their skill level.

It depends crucially on the words you use to encourage them to improve. I've often found 'impostor syndrome' to be stymie clarity. I might be guilty of replying to a comment that isn't quite your words though. apologies for that.