Lets not forget that there is a difference between players clearing an instance, and farming an instance.

I.e. there were significantly less players (pre-Heavensward) that were capable of forming a disciplined static to specifically farm T13 for gear.
According to a statistical report done by SE, something on the order of 10-20 people on a server of thousands.

These are what we would consider "elite". You don't get any more of a "special cookie" award than getting the high end gear.


Also as mentioned in many posts beforehand, teamwork is essential. No matter how "elite" players think to be.
Even stacked ilvl130 groups could wipe in Sastasha NM if the healer is out to lunch. Compound that problem to raids with a DPS check where each damage point could make the difference between winning and vote abandoning, each player is only as good as their weakest party member.