It is the unnamed line, the road not yet taken. It is the cause for regret in the final breath that outweighs the guilt of original sin. Survival is desire and desire is suffering. That is, the knowledge that survival is not enough. We have to transcend survival to eliminate suffering.
Opportunity is necessary to transcend survival, because it provides the path to prosperity.
This is the basis for the perverted logic of those who absorb the fruits of exploited opportunity without risk, always in the name of righteous suffering. In the name of a greater good. The most virtuous act is to conceive the straight line, and then resolve chaos and create value by adding order to produce a profit. The process of realizing success is necessarily effected and experienced by individuals acting in their own best interests. Only through self-interest can we realize the greatest profit, through the widest possible acceptance of an opportunity.