What makes this observation piercing is its recognition that safety and non-existence are eerily similar states—that a life spent dodging failure is already a kind of failure, just one we don't notice. Rowling isn't simply saying "failure builds character"; she's suggesting that refusing to fail means refusing to *do*, which evacuates life of its substance. A person who never applies for the job they want, never speaks up in meetings, never risks their savings on the venture they believe in, has technically avoided failure while having accomplished nothing that required courage. The real tragedy isn't the stumble; it's the untaken path that never existed to stumble upon.