Re: Thank god this is UFB because something about this hits my rage button.
I don't think it's just that naturally academic kids can coast, there's a psychological trap of defining yourself as Someone Who Gets Good Marks, and the older you are when you have to question that identity the harder it is to figure out how to motivate yourself once you either stop getting good marks (or stop getting them as easily) or are no longer in a context where you get "marks" at all. My anxiety about failure meant I worked moderately hard at school despite naturally testing well, and this just meant I didn't have to confront the spectre of mediocrity until my Phd. And then that stick hit me hard.