I don't know. Maybe there was a sweet spot a few years back, but 20+ years ago you only had your personal network to count on, none of those fancy marketplaces. And it was a slow grind. And there were intermediaries which did give you a constant flow of work but took a large cut, and you often ended up being the 5th or 6th contracted party on a project. It's, TBH, more or less the same - except now you actually do have the fancy marketplaces and VCs that give you an alternative.
That's true but it's important to note that back then there wasn't as much exposure and connectivity so the number of options was limited in a good way. We're now living in a largely connected world with equal opportunity yet very unequal results. Those with leverage use it and those without are left to scavange
