But it is the average runner that a PC plays, hence is of value when determining "how do you become a runner?"
As we noted earlier, the range of "stories" varies on how game-ist vs. realistyou want to treat human learning models.
At the game end of the spectrum, you stab a peasant, all of a sudden your're a better swordsman. You win a local gymnastic competition, you're magically a better acrobat, etc.
This is the model that "they've done a few runs, so they got good" represents. It coalesces nicely with our desire for progression in terms of narrative and reward for playing.
It just isn't in any way accurate. While "gameday" experience is proven to be useful, it's not because the owner's technical skills got better as a result, it's because their ability to mentally frame events and sort through lessons learned inspires better overall decision-making in terms of both speed and results in similar situations.
Think of a pro athlete. If playing in a game made you throw/kick/stick a ball faster/harder/accurately (more dice), people would simply practice games all the time. In reality they spend so much time on skills training because three passes a game doesn't make you a better passer; five thousand passes in practice make you a better passer. The scrimmage is there to help the decisions on when to pass, who to pass to, what situations not to pass in, and apply those technical skills as part of an overall effort.
So, if we go with a realistic human learning model, you don't get char-gen good at the technical stuff because you've done a few runs; five firefights != NRA shooting champ. hence why the more realistic you get, the more and more tied to some sort of organization or lifestyle where you could conceivably invest the time and money in training and do so in an environment that supports it. Thus "was a private eye, had to sling his gun on a few cases gone bad" nor "did some drive bys for the gang/mon/bleh" nor "used to be a KE cop, but left because he got tired of the paperwork...cops know how to shoot, right?" cannot justify a PI char with a 6 skill pistols pool in a non-gameist view on entry to running - Unless of course you assume there are super training facilities where in between runs they've been firing the hundreds or thousands of proper technique practice shots needed to get there. What it can justify is knowledge about the tactics that have worked in similar situations in the past, thinking quickly, overcoming hesitancy and willpower issues and so forth.
All of which can be ignored in the name of game, but if we learned skills the way SR implies "he's been around the block" then street level sicarios would be the best shots in the planet by the time they killed their fortieth man. They aren't. Which means higher DPs significantly limit the "realistic" paths to runner hood.
Which then begs the question: what competitive advantage does a low DP runner have over any of the other multitudes of disposable violent entities available for use by a Johnson? Discretion/loyalty/professionalism, but for an untried runner, Johnson doesn't know that. You can see where it goes from there...
