Idk my guy, sounds like you're using your personal experiences to generalize swim teams as a whole.
I mean I know a lot of swimmers and people from all over the country. Also if you listen to national swimmers, they don't really talk about winning, they talk more about personal improvement and making cut times. Sure you can compete with people on a team, but all that really matters is who has the faster time. And if you listen to the best swimmers talk, including some of the best in the nation, they are very humble people. It usually the ones suck that are arrogant.
Ah, with the elaboration your post makes more sense.
Hmmm looks like this author has never swam before. Coaches would be so angry if a swimmer was ever that arrogant. We are a pretty self depreciating group of people lol. Also swimming isn't about beating others. It's about getting personal best times. Or aiming for specific times such as state records. It's not about beating people, it's about beating times. This seems pretty inaccurate but it could be entertaining