the act of trailing and break even is the act of gaining exposure to further upside without risking capital. only a risk to a small portion of current profit. its an act similar to reinvesting dividends.
Imagine you plant a tree (your initial capital). After some time, the tree grows and starts bearing fruit (profits). You harvest the fruit and save it, ensuring the tree (your capital) remains intact. Now, the tree continues to grow and produce more fruit without any further risk to your initial capital. The potential harvest from the tree is unlimited.
You plant some of the fruits (unrealised profit) hoping they too become trees. Sometimes they fail to grow and that is fine. And you lost some fruits. But sometimes, all the fruits became trees, and bear more fruits for the seasons to come. As long as your gardening is good, those newtrees will cover whatever fruits that failed on further harvest