Just a personal anectode: I'm pretty sure that this wasn't true for me. I think some humans have an instinct for survival, maybe all of them, if a persons emotional needs are met then developing, advancing, learning is a natural byproduct without any external pressure. Just like we learn to talk and walk without someone telling us to do.
All the push just hurt me in the end, I would be a lot better off without traditional school, rarely I learned anything useful there.
Push for me isn’t edicts. It’s providing support and opportunity. I send my daughter to extra math lessons. She didn’t need them she was solidly an average. But getting those has really improved her level. I have to spend time with her, make learning fun, help with homework, coax reasoning out of an opinionated 12 yr old, etc, etc.
It’s not a “do this or else”. It’s basically let’s do it together.
I love to do homework with my oldest. But it's still like pulling teeth. I've had to do less of it this year because the teacher is actually keeping track of how kids are doing. Last year I would get back classwork with a giant star at the top where literally everything was wrong.
All the push just hurt me in the end, I would be a lot better off without traditional school, rarely I learned anything useful there.