Try harder or explain otherwise.
When I was on dating apps, I noticed a trend on women's profiles (n > 10; I can't speak for men since I never looked at any) where they highlighted their incompetence at various tasks through prompts, which are questions and fill-in-the-blanks the user answers for others to get to know them better. For example (prompt before the colon; their answer after the colon; [my interpretation of what they're saying in brackets]):
My greatest strength: hitting the curb in my car [haha I'm bad at driving]
I'm looking for: my car keys [haha I'm disorganized]
I'm the type of texter who: forgots to text back [haha I'm forgetful]
Unless I'm interpreting the answers uncharitably, these people appear to be proudly putting their incompetence on display for potential partners. (It could also be them being lazy at answering.) I've also noticed this phenomenon in social circles, where people proudly proclaim "I'm really bad at X" and leave it at that with no addendum of trying to get better by Y and Z. And it's not in the tone of admitting their limitations or trying to garner support because of an insecurity or building a bond with another person: it feels like pride.
This issue is present across all demographics from what I can tell, although not a majority.
It's important to note that some competences are more important and better than others—skills that grossly affect others should be prioritized higher than those that don't. A few examples in descending priority levels:
Some activities, like cooking, are optional to participate in and thus don't affect a wide range of people. Other activities, like driving, are effectively mandatory to participate in (can you tell I'm American?) and can easily affect a large number of people directly.
There are a few possible reasons for the proud incompetence, some of which work independently and others that work in tandem with each other.
Joking and laughing about being bad at something gives the topic a lighthearted feeling, making others think about it less than if someone said "I'm really bad at driving" and left it at that. It also doesn't lack confidence, which comes across as unattractive.
Choosing to not improve at something is much easier than taking the steps to improve. There's less effort, less money, less time, etc. The units spent improving skill X could be spent on skill Y, and why would someone choose skill X when it barely does anything for them but skill Y does everything for them?
Couple the easier option with bad being normalized and it seems as though everything is saying "there's no point at trying to get better", so why even try?
This choice is acceptable if there's a valid explanation for why they're bad at it and why it's not worth improving on. For example, someone who is bad at parallel parking may be bad because they never practice it and there's no point in improving because there are few, if any, situations where they'll be forced to parallel park because of ample drive-through parking nearby.
Incompetence has become normalized (example). People make excuses for poor performance and others just go along with it, either because they too are bad at it or don't care enough to shame the others for it. Carefully choosing battles is wise for both social and mental health reasons, but the optimal number is non-zero and should be comprised of things that can have serious consequences for others (e.g., poor driving, not paying bills on time, etc).
The damsel in distress trope extends beyond kidnapping and masked men into modern society where some people want others to take care of them because they can't—or choose not to—take care of themselves. Helpless behavior is reinforced and no incentive to improve is present. Men may (intentionally) be bad at cooking, cleaning, and organizing so women will help them. Women may (intentionally) be bad at driving and handiwork so men will help them. Yes, gross gender stereotypes in both directions are used as examples here. Again, some of this is intentional (where they know they could try, but choose not to) or genuine (where they think they can't do better). Regardless, everyone should at least make a concerted effort.
In no particular order.
Basic positive reinforcement in the form of "great job" or "wow, I'm impressed you can do that" can be enough for some people.
Being self-reliant is important because there may not always be a savior within arms reach. Kindly explaining this to someone may force them to think about the no-help-available situation and what that would be like for them. Safely putting them in said situation to truly instill the feeling is even better.
Explaining the low costs would also be helpful for improvements that seem daunting. As previously mentioned, doing nothing is easier than trying to improve, but what if it only took an hour a week for a few months to get competent? What if they are overestimating the time and energy investment needed and it's really not that much?
Shame is a major motivator of doing things in order to prevent feeling a negative emotion rather than achieving a positive one. Imagine reversing the sentiment for each of the three examples offered in the first paragraph:
person1: My greatest strength: hitting the curb in my car
multiple persons: Why are you proud of being a bad driver?
person1: [proceeds to improve their driving so they are considered more attractive by potential romantic partners]
person1: I'm looking for: my car keys
multiple persons: ... being disorganized?
person1: [proceeds to become more organized ...]
person1: I'm the type of texter who: forgots to text back
multiple persons: ...
person1: ...
Of course, the standard drawbacks of shaming come into play, but they're less pronounced when enforced at a societal level instead of a personal (one-on-one) level.
Counterarguments exist for the realm before pride is reached, but that's not what's discussed here. There's value in admitting shortcomings or limitations. There's value in showing humility by explaining a poor skill level. There's value in commiserating with others about how difficult something is.
There's no value in taking pride of said shortcomings or limitations. There's no value in explaining a poor skill level in hopes that it makes you more attractive or a better person. There's no value in being accepted by others who are just as incompetent in hopes that it acts as a shield from criticism or accountability.
I'm not immune to being incompetent at things and stand ready to admit it. Here's a list of things I'm currently not great at, why I'm not great at them, and what I'm doing to improve them: