Plenty of meat to chew on in this episode. Personally, I think being successful as an illustrator (by the measures most of us define "being successful") is part of what I call "interesting problems to have". Most of us are more likely to suffer from the exact opposite, the 'weekend artist' syndrome and not getting enough traction on social media...
The more time you spend on this field, the more you realize the Field of Dreams fantasy ("build it and they will come") won't happen just because. You need to make people out there be aware about you — and that takes much more work than you think.
Networking, making friends and acquaintances in the business has always been and still is key — something that in these pandemic times has been a lot harder to come through, admittedly. From that point of view I miss live trade events, festivals and the like — they are vital to sharpen your networking skills and to learn how to sell yourself.
If anything, rather than fear success I'd fear not being ready to seize the moment when (or whether) it comes.
In regards to copyright: I agree everything we upload to the Internet should feature our name and contact info somehow. Not because of paranoia of my art "being stolen" but because once you publish it into cyberspace you never know which ways will your artwork take, or how it will end on the eyes of a prospective art director or well-heeled client. This said, I don't always remember to do this but maybe I should, specially on my original art. For original character designs I care enough about, I try to copyright them for my own peace of mind and to secure IP down the line.