At least a few years ago when I was still following the CS:GO scene a lot of pros weren't Global Elite. It takes a different skillset to be able to dominate pubs and to be able to work well in a professional CS team.
A lot of pros aren’t global elite simply because they don’t play matchmaking seriously at all. Absolutely every professional csgo player in a top-20/30/100 team would easily attain that rank if they wanted it.
Not in North America. Some pro admitted that there's way too much cheating for him to get to SMFC or GE.
I mean that's a pretty empty statement then. I might as well say "Anyone can easily attain Global Elite if they wanted it.". Most people aren't taking matchmaking serious at all. It's just a pub game. I don't see a reason to hold pros to a lower standard here.
No. Some NA pros have actually said they couldn't do it. There are a lot of cheaters and you get punished for trying to play as a team.