I'll repeat the comment here I wrote to @gre3n, since I think it's also relevant to what you wrote:

That's true as well, though pretty much everything in life is a sort of crap-shoot. I actually consider each post to be like a stock option, or "lottery ticket". You just never know which one may "hit it big". So many factors apply, such as time of posting, who's watching, what people are searching for, etc.

And I can not tell you how often I've authored posts that took days to assemble, with what I considered invaluable information for those who took the time to read it, and it gained almost no traction. However, others posts that I literally threw together in 20 minutes, sometimes unsure if I should even post it, it takes off like a rocket and earns more than my last 10 posts combined!

Moral: Yeah, it's all to crap-shoot, you just never know, so you write about what you know, what you inspire, what you enjoy, and hope for the best ... And over time, you might start getting more and more "pleasant surprises" eat along your way! :)

Regarding this line you wrote:

(Although every day I eat across several articles that are just plain worthless and are still earning 10 times more than me, so I can only conclude the wrong attitude is being enforced by the system somehow.)

Unfortunately, that's often upvotes from whales that tend to simply crap-post in an attempt to "self-reward". If they do it blatantly enough, eventually (hopefully) they tend to be called out (and that's also what sometimes leads to flag-wars). But as for the rest of us, I'd say just focus on doing your thing.

I also try to keep my expectations in check. That way, if I get nothing, I won't be disappointed. If something good comes along, I can only be pleasantly surprised! :)