Amen, onhwy61. Licks can be studied, learned, and regurgitated. Creating music that expresses deep feelings and truths comes from one’s soul, not fingers. A lot of the greatest Bluesmen were pretty rough and unpolished as players and singers, but that’s part of their charm.
The recordings we have of the original Bluesmen were made when they were pretty old men, and reflect all the wisdom they had learned in their lifetimes of making music. One quote relating to musical wisdom, attributed to various Jazz musicians (Miles Davis, Count Basie, Duke Ellington), is "It's not the notes you play, it's those you don't". Some players understand the wisdom of that idea at a young age, others never learn it.