Wanting the starting spot is normal. Thinking you’re owed it is how you end up on the bench.

Ambition and entitlement look similar from a distance and behave very differently up close. Wanting something keeps you working for it, while believing it is owed stops the work, because in your head the thing is already yours and every delay becomes somebody else’s fault. Coaches, managers and colleagues spot the difference quickly, usually in how you handle not getting it yet.

Ask what would make the decision obvious to the person making it, then go and build that. Keep the wanting, and put down the part that is waiting for justice.