Same here, when I was a newbie I also think that btc is too expensive that is why I didn't buy it but later on I figured out that btc can be divided in smaller portions and you can also buy it this way. I think this was still included on the knowledge part, the op discussing about.
There are also people that knows that they can buy btc in factions but they still think that they can earn more on a much lighter coin because they can buy millions of it at a much cheaper cost. Btc/cryptos are not a secret anymore and many women are also involved because they know that they can earn an income if they invest and trade it. Most of them are from the third world country where the state of living is poor.
It never hit me like that though. You buy fractions of lots in stock markets, you also buy fractions of gold (who the hell could afford an ounce as a first time buyer anyway), don't know why people saw Bitcoin differently, but I guess it's just because people see the whole BTC price everywhere and it doesn't occur you can buy parts of it. Or as you say, they feel like they're getting in early on a lowcap coin, waiting for the x100 dream.