Counterpoint: sometimes the best still shot requires a particular moment captured with a particular, consciously arranged setup.

This interview of a veteran NBA photographer breaks it down of how he only has a single shot per shot because of how he necessarily relies on strobes set up to not distract the players or interfere with the broadcast. As a result, he scouts/studies each player and team so that he knows when the right moment is to actually capture the shot, because he can’t exactly ask players to do it again.

If you read interviews of Pulitzer photography winners, they’ll often say a lot of the same things: being prepared and being lucky and having that convergence of having incredibly high skill/expertise/understanding of the setting, while being able to capture in every opportunity presented.

You should capture a lot of photos and examine them to understand how to make them better, and increase your skill level and understand your subject so that you can still optimize for the very best shot possible.