"If your parents spent your childhood telling you that you weren't that smart and shouldn't try things because you'd obviously fail, the problem started before you were an adult."

Yes, that was my point.

Though to be clear, my parents didn't tell me I wasn't smart. Just that I wasn't smart enough or good enough for the things I wanted to try, with the implication that trying and failing would be very humiliating for everyone so I needed to be really, really sure I'd succeed at something before attempting it.