There's a certain amount of genetics involved, good eyesight, the right muscle balance, dexterity, the right configuration of fingers, etc. I saw a plaster cast once of Vladimir Horowitz's hands. The man's fingers were a good 50% longer than mine, and I have, I suppose, an average man's hand. It's no wonder he was a great pianist. So, what if someone really wants to be a great pianist, studies hard, practices for many hours, but has small fingers? He's doomed, I'm afraid. Genetics has stolen his dream.
Of course, genetics is only part. There's a certain amount of talent involved, a natural sense of geometry for pool. And then there's study and practice and more study and more practice and that all takes dedication.
But, to get to the pro level? Hmmm....
Consider, for example, playing basketball. The basics are the same. You have to have the right genetics. You have to have some talent. Then, there's study and practice which takes dedication. But, to turn pro, you have to get seen by a recruiter, sign a contract, etc. The process is pretty well defined.
I used to live in Nashville, Tennessee. In Nashville, the game is not basketball or pool. In Nashville, the game is music. And I got to see it played first-hand because the girl who was the receptionist at the company I worked for was a rising country music star. You know here today as Trish Yearwood. I'm also a great bluegrass music fan and one of the software engineers at the company I worked for was a Grammy Award winning mandoline player, Carl Caldwell. The fact that he can be a Grammy Award winner and still working his day job tells you a bit about bluegrass. Anyway, he often played with a wonderful girl named Alison Krauss who was very much a rising star at the time, but still rising. To make it in the music business, you need the right genetics, some talent, study, practice, a lot of dedication, and... the major ingredient, connections. Nashville is all about networking.
My guess is that pro pool is similar. You've got to get to know the right people.
