Yes, absolutely if you work in creative industries for some time, you see this happen all the time.My ex-boyfriend will always be a session musician even if he was an excellent musician. It's brutal. I think there are people doing well, but are they doing well in the normal world sense? I don't know. I would need to earn a lot more. I am trying to work on an idea that is important to me, and the discipline of sitting down and writing every day (as you know!) is very useful in developing ideas....