This question is both difficult and easy to answer, because there is no specific quantification for that distance. It's also like there are no criteria to determine greatness or mediocrity. It's all just feeling.
But if for easy to understand, "greatness is when your values make the world around you better, not using the world as a foundation for your ego", while "ordinaryness is when the ego is too big but the bravery is too small, always wanting to receive respect from the world but cannot give away minimal kindness".
And to feel, it is a long distance. Very, very far, can be represented by the saying: "The failure of the great is the joy of the mediocre". Sounds philosophical, but it is of an Argentine player after the 2026 World Cup final.
The Argentine team lost to Spain, but Argentine football is still great - because of many cups won, because of history, because of tradition. Lionel Messi also lost, but he is still great (although some actions are also criticized) for his massive career.
Therefore, whether that saying - or the opinions about the "conspiracy theory" against Argentina - represents the Argentine collective or not is unknown, it only reflects a very common psychological aspect, which is the arrogance hidden behind the guise of hurt. Therefore, even if you talk about sky-high pain, congratulate the opponent, the thing that lasts the longest in the crowd's memory is that philosophical saying. It makes them increasingly ugly in the eyes of people.
Therefore, it can be very far away, but the boundary between greatness and mediocrity is sometimes only one attitude, one word apart. As Albert Einstein once said: "The weak retaliate. The strong forgive. The intelligent ignore", disregarding the majority's perspective and labeling criticism as "jealousy", people will pull their own position closer to mediocrity - even below normal.
Words spoken in anger can soothe the ego in a moment, but the price to pay is respect - something that once lost is very difficult to find again.
Look at their teacher, it's simply "losing is losing, worth it"...
