> there will likely be a higher than average representation from people who would sit in the 10%

And also an under-representation of "average users".

Python the language has always benefitted from its relative simplicity, which I attribute to people like GVR saying "no" to specialized features that accrue on languages like barnacles on a ship (looking at you C++).

With newer languages we see core design teams being much more opinionated about tooling for build and dependendency/packaging management. This is no doubt in response to the dumpster fires of C++ and Python, where "the ecosystem will sort itself out" clearly hasn't worked.