I needed about 10 years to become consistently profitable and make enough to quit my job. Every daytrader, successful or not, needs a period that daytrading will cost money and not bring any money, only costs. I call that an investment cost. In any business most people need time before they can live for 100% from the profits generated by their business.
I doubt that you are a successful daytrader, because these daytraders make a multiple of the 20% you mention.
At the start I overestimated myself. Daytrading looked more easy then it was. Over the years I became better and better and I started to UNDERestimate myself. What seemed impossible in the beginning (making at least 2 points ES a day net) became easy. After more than 20 years of daytrading I reached levels that went beyond the level I ever was dreaming of.
Conclusion: Over- and underestimation are changing depending on the evolution of the trader. So they are temporary and can change.
In any profession you need basic knowledge, that you learn at school. Then you have to go to a higher level for more specific knowledge that you need for your future profession.
So when you should start the more specific knowlegde for being a daytrader, you have a problem as this education does not exist. You confuse the lack of this knowledge with not being talented. For part of the wannebee daytraders there is indeed a lack of talent, but for another part there is no lack, just the knowlegde is still missing. This missing knowledge need to be found by the daytrader himself.
What makes the numbers look bad, is the fact that you only need a PC and $500 to start daytrading. There are no other requirements. So basically even the biggest idiot can start as a daytrader. And the last years the number of daytraders went up astronomically because of the low entrey requirements. That same low level entry was the key of the success of trading crypto's. 75% of all wallets have less than $200 value.
I would like to end with a post from someone else:
