This is an interesting thread.
I have a friend who retired to Steamboat several years ago at the age of 43. He was an analyst for a large mutual fund company in Denver. No kids. Probably had $3-5 million liquid when he retired. He continues to manage his portfolio as his primary income-producing vehicle. So you could certainly say that he "trades for a living". But he would be content to beat "the market" with lower volatility and to minimize big drawdowns.
I would consider anyone who regularly beats a brain dead 60% SPY/40% bond portfolio to have an "edge". Hell, they are beating the vast majority of professional fund managers! But beating the "index" by 2% doesn't move the needle on a $100K static portfolio. You need to make the pile bigger.
The OP said that it seemed impossible to get a bigger pile, but here's an easy way to become a millionaire in 17 years without trading at all. Max out your 401(K) every year. Find an employer that gives a 6% 401(K) match. Get 8% returns on your invested funds. (I assumed 3% annual increases in salary)
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If you have a spouse who does the same, you can hit 7 figures in 8.5 years! Sure, you can't easily touch the money until you're 65, but if you are 50 years old with a $2 MM account, there's nothing stopping you from quitting your 9-5 job, moving somewhere nice and taking a job that just pays the bills...while you wait to retire in style.
Good stuff!