Remarkable people "finding their own way" has always been a myth. No one, no matter how smart, becomes successful without a support system, mentorship, a strong network/clique, sponsors, and more. This is historically what a university has provided.
This is historically what a university has provided to the privileged, unremarkable children of remarkable people who developed their support systems and networks and found mentors and sponsors by whatever means they could. That's when you consider modern and classical universities, rather than the intervening two millennia where such institutions were mainly concerned with theological studies and producing fewer innovators and more religious officials who were trained to stick to the literal canon.
I don't understand how this myth perpetuates even today.