Having been around cameras that cost the amount of a house here, it's definitely a mixture of both. You can use any camera to make something special, but it ultimately depends on what you want to create. There's going to be limits in how a particular lens or camera will react to certain lighting conditions and only so much you can do about it. There's also only so much you can do about things such as noise, sharpness, focal lengths, and even shutter speeds.
More expensive gear definitely makes a grand difference, but just knowing the most important aspects of photography will help pull you out of some of those limitations and still capable of creating great images. It's to be expected that the experience you have with a camera built for addressing more areas of photography and videography will differ from something that costs a fraction of that price and performs specifically for other tasks.
Rule of thirds, understanding depth of field, focal lengths, understanding lighting and shadows and colour theory, movement and perspective. These are the fundamental tools that'll push you forward even if you're using dated/limiting gear.
Funnily enough, I was just thinking about these very concepts and considering making a video for the Movies & TV Shows community that goes into these concepts with actual examples from films. Showing how these concepts amplify emotion and context.
Ya, I am starting taking notes on basic photography techniques. I forgot about it at times but when I really take the time to, It's often a good one. You should really do those education posts. That would help many people, I think.