I generally agree with your comment, but I think it could use further elaboration. This is going to sound ridiculously obvious, but obviously it isn't: most things in life are a lot more complicated than we think. Like what it means to be "excellent" or "average".
There are a lot of people who are viewed as excellent and yes, it often takes tremendous drive to get where they are (sometimes luck plays a bigger role), but how excellent are they really? Your suggestion that "they seek tremendous joy from walking that path" may work for some, but certainly not for all. A lot of the high achievers that I've known are relentlessly driven to the brink of mental or physical self-destruction. They may be proud of their success, but they don't seem to be joyful people. They may feel good when comparing themselves to someone like me, but they tend to compare themselves to people who are more successful than themselves, creating a vicious cycle of demanding higher achievment for themselves, yet never being satisfied by it. They concentrate on their careers at the expense of their families, so they have a lot of familial strife. Their spouses and children are virtual strangers. Then can't connect with them emotionally because that's a beta trait. On the other hand, I've known high achievers who are very happy, loving people. Are the former types really excellent? It depends on where we place our priorities, but as a culture (in the US), we tend to view ruthless, self-obsessed near-madmen as excellent.
What's average? Inevitably, it's someone who hasn't made a lot of money or grown high on a career ladder, or who hasn't had a large presence in helping people outside of his or her immediate social circle. In this last case, how wide does the circle have to be to elevate the person from average to excellent? Can an aide who works with disabled children in a high school be considered excellent? She's just a regular person with a below average income. But she may be inspiring because she's loving and thoughtful and thought-provoking. Her presence in the lives of her student may be the single most positive thing in their lives, but that impact is within a very small social circle. But then again, her small social circle of impact can include one person who goes on to have a tremendous impact on a large number of people. Does that now make her excellent?
Contentment with our lot seems to be one of the most underrated of human achievements and it can be well within the reach of the average person and far beyond the reach of the person of excellence.