Are large portions of options traders just gambling, or is it feasible/realistic to build an edge?

I find options interesting but I'm in the beginning stages of understanding strategy.

It could just be confirmation bias of online posts, but it seems like a large majority of options traders are just doing 50/50 coinflips on if a stock goes up or down on earnings reports with essentially "guesses" or "vibes". 0DTE earnings plays or ~7d SPY/SPX plays seem very common.

I understand that there is a risk/reward component, more stable strategies such as the wheel, exercising x% per trade rules, etc. I also understand that the higher percentile traders in any given market (stocks, forex, crypto, options, etc) can outperform the market as well.

That being said, with all the things that determines the option price, it kinda feels like rewards beyond what SPY would get you are priced in as potential losses.

For someone that is considering the opportunity cost of their time - does options trading have enough of an edge that you can actually develop provided proper strategy that is worth investing time into becoming a top performer?

TL;DR - I'm on the fence on options trading as a primary strategy. While it's the most alluring due to potential gains above an index/ETF, its equally as scary as the potential losses for me personally.