The reason people struggle with the idea of 10x programmers is that people are very bad at evaluating the impact of others. Obviously we can all agree on a select few but for those who are just "regular" workers there is often not enough context.
I think it's also because we have a lot of ego. Let's admit it. There are some people who have a rare insight or mobilize people and code in a way that provides 10x value to the company and people.
Think about all the kickass Python libraries people have wrote. Those provide 10x value across the board to entire industries.
