I've been freelancing for 7 years, as a primarily JS developer specialising in maps, and the landscape looks nothing like that to me. I don't have a resume, nor has anyone ever asked for one. Also, there wasn't really a "setup" phase and certainly no "marketing".
Recruiters? Is he sure he's a freelancer?
My experience in both UK and EU is that a heck a lot of "freelance" aka "B2B contract" style work does indeed come via recruiters. Either they charge the client an upfront "finders fee", or the invoicing goes via the recruiter who adds their margin to the monthly bill before passing it on to the end client. So yeah, perfectly valid for a freelancer to work via recruiters even if that's not your personal experience.
They subcontracted me out for a year (and paid full benefits like health insurance) and after a year I started billing the company directly. I even found out what they were charging the company, reduced it by around 25% and still gave my self a 25% raise.