People are generally not very good at communicating, and I know because I am one of them.
I just got off the phone with someone giving me the outline of a possible project management position, and through this process, he highlighted the importance of communication in the role. That got me thinking about how often relationships are damaged by not communicating well and having misunderstandings.
I've found that I think something is seemingly obvious most of the time, I won't bring it up. But the other person rarely thinks the same way you do and so may not pick up on it. This creates a disconnect and causes confusion and misunderstandings. Learning how to communicate well is a massive skill to learn and will move you forward much faster than most other credentials will for any position.
Even in contacting big-name people, communicating what you already know and asking a specific question will net you a specific answer. If you go broad and ask something like 'how do you be successful in life,' they will typically give a variant of the answer 'work hard and don't stop,' which isn't very helpful for your situation. But if you communicate where you are now and a specific scenario, then ask them what they would do were they in your position; at that point, they can give you a good response.
Even sending thank-you's and considering what they would want and telling them is huge and something we often overlook! On its face, my mind immediately thinks of it as manipulation, but in reality, we are serving them. They want to see younger people genuinely interested and willing to put in the work to find more wisdom, and so you communicate to them that you are that person.