[randomdata]

> It seems like people earlier had it much easier and the ideas seemed a bit obvious.

In my experience: Everything always seems like it is already done, until something changes in the world, and then a bunch of obvious gaps emerge.

Which is to say that it is quite possible that earlier people did have it easier than what you are experiencing right now, but that doesn't mean it was always easy for them. They had to wait for the right moment.

The gaps will find you when they are ready. The bigger challenge is in being ready to accept them when they come. From what I have seen, when the obvious gaps start to come, you start getting pulled in a lot of different directions and, if not properly focused, can easily see the opportunity go by.