I think success may all be quantitative, but people just don't realize it. I propose that those who seem to trade by so-called intuition are relying on their past experience, some indicators, or a combination of such things to make decisions. I think they simply don't realize what they do. I believe this is why so many books about trading are rubbish or at least noninformative. Many successful traders simply cannot explain what they do. It's second nature to them. I believe some people can arrive at a system by experimentation without the usual backtesting and rigorous skills it requires (I'm definitely not one of them). However, those who "feel" their way into something may be using the same skills unconsciously.
Think about the last time you had a bad feeling about someone--you did not trust them, maybe for no identifiable reason. I submit that you did have a good reason: something in their speech patterns, body language, or choice of words tapped into your experience and notified your unconscious mind that you have seen this before, and it did not end well. If you tried to bring all that experience into conscious thought, you probably would not be able to do it. But there is this lifelong synthesis and judgment buried there, and you use it all the time.