I think one thing people lose track of is that it takes a lot of time to get a high score.
According to the FICO data, a High Achiever opened his/her first revolving account 19 years ago (and that's the average). Twenty years is a loooooooong time to build a credit history.
And you have to pay consistently on time. According to the same data, virtually none of the High Achievers have a 60 day late, and the very few of them with a single 30 day late got it at least 4 years ago. That means that the vast majority of them have never paid late. Ever.
The problem is that people are impatient. Seems a lot of people file BK and then wonder why they can't get a good mortgage 6 months later. A mortgage is usually a 30-year commitment. The bank needs to be comfortable that you're going to hold up your end of the bargain for that long.