Perfect, yet not enough

There aren’t many civilizations out there that can boast of such a wide variety of fields they excel at as the human civilization can do.
They have many scholars that are the top of their respective fields.
They have many warriors of different ways, that are the top of their path.
They have advancements in both magical and scientific areas that can dwarf that of the majority of the other civilizations.
Their population’s growth is staggering, and since a few dynasties ago they introduced a sheltering/raising commoner’s strength as well, the genius/normal contributor ratio has increased as well.
The galaxy their home system is in was  a relatively barren one, with one low level civilization, and two mid-level ones, but both of them were dying.
So it wasn’t a surprise when they’ve established a galactic Empire, and quickly started sending out envoys and expeditions outside their galaxy.
They’ve absorbed knowledge from older civilizations, and adapted, improved and gained new ways to approach old problems.
They’ve solved many cultivation problems, by simply following multiple paths, as they were naturally a civilization that could more or less start their cultivation on any path.
They’ve solved health issues, societal issues as well, and learnt from the mistakes of others, and made sure that everybody was more or less happy.
From the Emperor to the kings, governors all the way to the farmers, and the orphans.
They’ve all received care, above average methods to cultivate different paths to greatness, and opportunities.
There is still a discrepancy between the rich and the poor, but that’s almost impossible to erase, until one doesn’t create a hive-mind civilization.
But then the usual happened.
Since resources aren’t infinite, the humans development has been slowed down, thus they needed to hasten their collaborations and expansions…
Which led to many, many conflicts.
Which is where the weirdness comes in knocking.
The human civilization, or empire at this point is quite famous.
Their products are well-received and sought after.
Their arts, techniques, crafts are seen as top-tier quality and many masters have been hired by other civilizations to spread their knowledge.
Their experts are amongst the very best, few can stall them, and even less can battle one on one with them.
The humans strategy is always changing, always adapting, once strong once weak, you never know what they will be doing.
And their intelligence gathering is amongst the best.
And yet…
And yet…
And yet, they keep losing, again and again.
Without allies, they wouldn’t be able to have regions outside their own galaxy.
Which is weird.
Relatively speaking, they are a perfect civilization.
They understand when to push forward and when to fall back.
They prioritize the growth of their people, instead the growth of their empire.
Geniuses abound, breakthroughs are normal occurrences…
And yet…
They aren’t able to win battles…
Perfect, yet not enough, is what they are called in the universe.
The reason is simple though.
Since their threat level is so high…multiple civilizations are suppressing them.
Both above and in the shadows…
No matter how good they are, against dozens of other galaxies…they can’t do much.
This on the other hand, proves against their prowess…
Being able to stall, and not be completely pushed back by dozens of other powers like themselves, is an incredible feat…
But who knows how long this will last.
Will they breakthrough this suppression or will they wilt away?
So, sad to see such a balanced civilization struggling like this…
But this is how the universe is, balanced in its ways.
The humans have found no true struggle until now, on a greater scale, and this is their first true obstacle in order to properly step on a much bigger stage…