A collection of uncoordinated players will always be defeated by a well-coordinated team, even if their opponents are individually less-capable players.
For example, taking a planet often involves the coordinated actions of many players: one or more carriers, possibly escorts to safe-guard the carriers, and often an advance wing to clear the planet of defenders. Poor coordination can result in a foiled take, or even the loss of a fully loaded carrier.
Even seemingly solitary actions like back-field bombing take place in a larger context, and need to be appropriately coordinated with the rest of the team.
Two physically collocated netrek players can easily turn the tide of a netrek pick-up game simply by working together as a tightly knit unit (utilizing out-of-band communication afforded by physical proximity). Because of this effect, League teams used to be comprised solely of collocated teammates. Interestingly, teams of exceptional players have recently overcome this barrier by relying on teammates' vast experience to recognize patterns of play without the need for verbal communication.