This is one of those really interesting biases in storytelling, where only those who are brave, or else at least cowardly in a particularly interesting way, get the spotlight. The rest of us, who might not go so far as to burn ourselves alive, but who would not go out to battle against monsters, tend to essentially not exist in stories. But the truth is that I doubt if you put me in Minas Tirith at the end of the third age, that I would have the courage to pick up a sword and go to battle on the fields of Pelennor.
I think that we see courage in a lot of characters where they go up against impossible odds and win is really above and beyond anything that most people can achieve. One of the brilliances of Tolkien is that he managed to frame Frodo's courage in a slightly different way, where it was not necessarily courage in battle, but rather the courage to make the best choice he could. We can still look up to people like Aragorn who are great warrior's, but Frodo's willingness to do his best in the face of great consequences is something we can really emulate, even if we are often tempted to run like Denethor.
Yes, I agree, the average person is not usually portrayed in stories. I think one of the reasons for that is it is not interesting for us, as a reader, to reader the adventures of what someone normal would do, if they’re not willing to do something courageous or cowardly. It would be a very short story of sheltering in place, sort of deal, or the like. We see the mundane all the time, every day, so why would we want to then read about it. Those with courage, those who are cowardly, or those with evil intent make interesting stories. This is true even in our daily news. Those who did something amazing or those who did something horrific or terrible are usually who make the headlines. It is the morbid curiosity in humans that makes these things interesting to us. Ordinary, average people doing extraordinary things, whether good or bad. Even Frodo, as relatable as he is, could not be categorized as ordinary or average. There’s always some uniqueness, something out of the ordinary, to a character or story that grabs our attention and makes us want to read or listen or watch.
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