The reality is sometimes not that simple. Being able to compete or not, of course, must be seen from a number of actual conditions, even if the players make a sizable contribution but must pay attention to other conditions.
This season is proof that conditions other than players have an effect because Bayern's conditions this season actually provide something different and are quite tense, especially when competition is held even until the match ends.
But it all comes back the same in the end, saying Dortmund can compete or not at the moment it seems with their conditions, they are only focused on second place and nothing else can really be done when Bayern really get back to their good form.
The only thing Dortmund can achieve is to finish just behind Bayern Munich and that has been going on since the 18/19 season. It has been very consistent for Dortmund and they have repeatedly failed to win the bundesliga title in that time interval. Dortmund will always be able to compete with Bayern Munich and this is a fact in plain sight. I think it's just a matter of next season whether Dortmund will continue to consistently occupy second place or manage to break the curse and become the Bundesliga champion, only time can tell.
As far as I remember 2020/2021 the second position belongs to Leipzig.
But indeed they only lasted one season because after that Leipzig did something that was beyond predictions by giving players and coaches to Bayern.
On the other hand, for Dortmund, I still see that this season they put a lot of pressure because there was nothing like that in previous seasons. and this season is different because Bayern are not playing too well giving Dortmund more opportunities.
Next season might not be the same as this season but of course the hope is that something interesting like this season will happen again next season.