After developing software for 15 years, I submitted my first patch to an open source project yesterday, and it was because I needed the functionality for my day job (being able to actually stream AES CTR and HMAC in Erlang). Somehow, I've managed to be successful in my job without many commits.
Don't beat yourself up if you aren't a contributor. Can it be valuable and fun? Yes. Is it a requirement to succeed? No. Life is for living, not checking off boxes other people say are important. Have fun with that kid, that will likely be far more rewarding than any patch!
Yes! People think that contributing to OSS is some kind of moral duty. OSS is not a cancer hospital for kids.
Do you work on a project that depends on OSS? There will be bugs (lots of bugs — OSS is generous in this regard) and the need to contribute will arise naturally. Or else.
You don't? Why bother? Go help the local cancer hospital for kids instead.
Don't beat yourself up if you aren't a contributor. Can it be valuable and fun? Yes. Is it a requirement to succeed? No. Life is for living, not checking off boxes other people say are important. Have fun with that kid, that will likely be far more rewarding than any patch!