Not everybody will get into places like Improv, Comedy Store, Cellar, wherever … not everybody will get a 1st place prize from a famous festival. Those spots are coveted and the people who pick those winners and comics very often base their decisions on politics, demographics, quotas and more that has nothing to do with a person’s raw comedy potential or skills.
All goes to say, I think it’s very likely that at least in the US, talented standup comedians may actually go unnoticed their entire careers. It has less to do with their comedic skills and more to do with what’s acceptable at the time, which trends are happening, which demographics are “in” and which identity politics are at play, and what kind of doorkeepers are hoarding power and/or keeping people out. Not only that, there’s so much competition that it’s sometimes hardly worth it IMO to waste your time trying to get into a big big club or win a huge festival especially if you are not fitting the “mold” that these big clubs or festivals are looking for.
Not all of us are gonna make it. I would be surprised if I even “make it” whatever that means. Certain clubs might be off-limits to me my entire life. But a shitty comic doing subpar comedy at a big club is a shitty comic no matter how many followers he has or where he gets passed. A great unique authentic vulnerable artistic comedian at a small, tiny club or even an open mic is an amazing comic, no matter how small a following he/she has