The missing variable here is what you're actually trying to solve. Coaches are most useful when you already have enough self-awareness to know your blindspot but can't see around it — mentors and courses can't replicate that specific feedback loop.

The framing assumes these are substitutes. The best coaches I've worked with operate nothing like mentors or courses — they compress years of pattern recognition into weeks. Apples and oranges.

Counterpoint: most people underutilize coaches, not overutilize them. The bar isn't "have you tried everything else first" — it's whether the ROI makes sense for your specific bottleneck right now.