It also applies to how many of us extract excellence from ourselves. Working intense hours, loathing ourselves for errors, losing our lives to release some app which is probably shitty and even ultimately meaningless to humanity when you allow yourself to think about it... :)

Also, many teachers have a lot in common with the one in the film. A lot are worse. (SPOILER: Modulo the unlikelihood of someone competing after stumbling about and obviously bleeding profusely.)