We had a “When did you know ‘time to compete’?” thread a few years back that had some interesting feedback from some competitors around here.
I think physique contests (even strength sports to an extent) are an interesting situation in that, because it’s possible to know you’re absolutely not going to place first before you even enter, the whole reason for competing can vary from competitor to competitor.
Like, people wouldn’t enter an MMA fight if they knew 100% they were going to lose, just because they’re proud of getting a stripe on their white belt. A baseball team doesn’t necessarily walk onto the field knowing they’re going to lose before the first pitch. But bodybuilding/physique is still a sport where, on the amateur level, people “compete” when they’re not presenting a competitive finished product.
The people who are either delusional and see their awesome physique when no one else does or the people who compete because they’re proud of losing 50 pounds of fat but still have 30 to lose before being show-ready are probably never going to disappear because there’s no way to vet amateur contests. Same way powerlifting meets, as far as I’ve ever heard, don’t have a “bodyweight bench minimum” before competing, you’re always going to get bodybuilding beginners stepping on stage just because they feel like it.