It really isn't. I've never played formalized sports in my life and had no problem getting into multiple universities (yes, a few decades ago but I doubt if society has become more sports driven; on the contrary people often say that due to the tech boom we now live in an era where if anything, unsporty nerds have too much power)
A few decades ago is a millennium in college admissions for top schools. I went to a top 20 university. My kid, who was a way better hs student than I was and state ranked in music with a ISEF engineering award couldn’t get into any of his top 10 schools. Got waitlisted as a dual legacy from my university and ultimately settled for a top 35 school.
It was during COVID, when testing didn’t happen and schools had to rely on gut feel and high school reputation, so that may have played a role too.
He’s started his career now and wondering what to do with all his free time after eight years of living on six hours of sleep or less.