It's not unfair. It's too bad so sad cry me a river that you won't be able to earn that first 100 bucks while you get to 1000 subscribers and 4,000 hours. You are going to be in it to win it now. If you aren't serious you'll be burnt out before a year is up. It took me 2 years to get to the threshold numbers. That is a long time for a hobbyist.
I still stand by this: If you have what it takes you will make it in your first 6 months on the platform. If you don't you are hobby-zoned and you can forget about growing fast. I will take you 2 years to get to 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours like I did. You will be that guy that is struggling to get to the lofty goal of 10K subscribers. Still working on that one myself, and it will take another few years if current growth continues. It is a harsh reality you will not have the ability to grow like the early adopters. That is what happens when you step in the game late and do what others have been doing for quite a while. No matter how crap the big guy's content is compared to yours, they will still be watching the big guy because he is big. And if you make it yourself? You want it to be that way. It shouldn't be easy. If it was easy everyone can do it. The easy days are long gone.