The simple truth behind how to excel is really the right motivation. You know it when you see it.

Investor Graham Duncan describes it well below

"[Tennis champion] Novak Djokovic said in an interview with the Financial Times that "I can carry on playing at this level because I like hitting the tennis ball." The interviewer replied in surprise: "Are there really players who don't like hitting the ball?" Djokovic answered, "Oh yes. There are people out there who don't have the right motivation. You don't need to talk to them. I can see it."

If you can find the thing you do for its own sake, the compulsive piece of your process, and dial that up and up, beyond the imaginary ceiling for that activity you may be creating, my experience is the world comes to you for that thing and you massively outperform the others who don't actually like hitting that particular ball. I think the rest of career advice is commentary on this essential truth."

This first reminded me of my badminton days from age 15 when I was made captain of the team in strangely budget-constrained circumstances. 

It was not hard to tell the real appetite of the team. Circumstances is only a limiting factor.