It's not about the gear, but it is.

Canon Rebel XT 18-55mm kit lens. Yongnuo speedlight.

There are a lot of gear happy photographers. I'm one of them at times. Gotta get the latest and greatest, the fastest, and with the newest technology.  There are photographers that think you aren't worth your salt if you shoot with a four year old "relic".

Comparison of the two. Top image shot with a Nikon D750 24-70mm Tamron 2.8 lens.

Then there are the clients. "Wow, that must be expensive!" or "Your camera takes great pictures!!"  There are some who know a little about cameras and/or photography that will vet you by your gear or even require certain equipment to be hired.

Sometimes, you'll run in to another photographer with their big lens and battery grip and you automatically assume they're so much better than you. They are nailing those shots, and here you are with your little camera doing "OK".  I just read someone in a Facebook group ask if others also feel intimidated when running across another photographer. To be honest, I used to as well.  Now, I'll take my itty bitty entry level Olympus and walk around with confidence. I shoot with other gear as well. Gear that may be considered pro or semi pro, but when you bring a little camera around people ignore you. That can give you opportunity for more candid and "real" captures of people.

Folks...it's not about the gear, but it is. Let me explain.

Nikon D750 24-70mm Tamron 2.8 lens

You need to know your craft to make older technology work for you. You need to know the limitations of your equipment before you expect good performance.  The 14 year old Canon I used in the first image at the start of this post is perfectly capable of capturing a still subject in good light. However, if I had tried to take a photo like the one above, I'd still be trying to lock focus on this fast moving subject in low light. The old entry level camera wasn't made for that. Maybe a pro camera the same age would have some success. I'm not sure. The continuous focus (Servo) doesn't seem to track well, then account for the low light, my best guess is that it will hunt a bit. I think I might experiment on this and maybe post my findings.

If you're a photographer looking to upgrade step back and consider a few things.
Are you wanting to shoot fast moving subjects, or shoot in low light like in weddings for example? Do you want to print huge pieces and the resolution just isn't there for you? I read somewhere, I'm not sure if it's true, that billboards were once printed from cameras shooting at 6MP. It's about viewing distance.  However, if you have found that you can not reach what you need due to the limitations of your equipment (and not your ability) then yes upgrade to something more capable.

Are you struggling in good light with still or slow moving subjects? It might be your ability and not the camera's.  A lot of photographers will say get good glass first, then when you hit that wall again, consider a new camera.  I agree with that. Lens quality is important.  The quality of glass, and how wide open it can go to let in more of that light will make a huge difference.

This is all matter of opinion of course. You do need the right tools for the job. Just don't jump the gun unless you're sure it's the gear and not you.