For sure, because in most cases I've found the recovery images to be either be damaged, not there, wrong version (Which means you're going to have to do ALL of those updates over again) or it just doesn't work because of whatever is wrong with the OS.
But that's concerning the factory recovery partition. Obviously, everybody should have something to create image backups with using third party software, because Microsoft's idea of a backup or restore point is laughable, and a place to back it up TO. As you say though, that is rarely the case because only a fraction of the population even has the slightest clue about what they are doing or what they SHOULD be doing, in terms of such things. More's the pity and to be honest anybody without the basic skills necessary to understand the need for a backup and the wherewithal to create said backup, or at least the presence of mind to have somebody who does do it for them or set them up with something that can do it on a schedule, probably deserves the lesson they get when something goes wrong.
That doesn't mean I don't feel bad for them when they lose a bunch of important stuff, because I do, but it's common sense and it's hard to not feel like anybody who puts their hand on a hot stove burner and gets burned didn't know that was going to happen.
And I have several, many in fact, customers, who I've shown what to do and how to do it and they are able to do so now when it's necessary. Those same people had no clue, about any of it, when we started, so I think yes, pretty much most people can be taught to do this for themselves. It's not rocket science and you don't need an engineering degree to do any of this. I've shown literally hundreds of people on here how to either set up a reliable backup system or how to quickly clean install and get things put back where they belong afterwards so that I find it hard to believe that all but the most stubborn or thickheaded cannot learn to do this as well.
The question is never whether you WILL have a catastrophic loss, if you are not prepared, it is ONLY, WHEN.