How is it that every one in my age (23) with same ambitions as me has already many years programming experience ? Anyone got an example of a programming genius starting around my age without being a natural talent ? Even worth the hustle to compete with these brains or will I allways stay behind in the real hard world of good earning devs ?

"programming genuis"

Being a genuis isn't really something you can measure. It's more of an opinion and often misused title.

But it doesn't matter when you start, just fucking do it and get your experience. Do freelance work on the side to better your skills and make up for any salary gap.

I mean... my partner is 1 year older than me and started coding earlier but hes on medior level now while I'm not even a junior. But I started this year.. doing an internship now. I feel like I'm a slow learner but at the same time I have learned a lot in the past month even. I'm really excited what the future holds tho instead of letting the lack of knowledge get me down :) no need to compare yourself. Just keep going !

Because blink-182 were right, and nobody likes you when you're 23?