I believe the phrase “do what you can,” is often underestimated, because the things we can do are seemingly unglamorous, and not to our liking.
Whenever someone implies that “doing what you can” isn’t worth their time, I think of Nelson Mandela, breaking rocks in prison, doing what he could.
And I think about where it got him.
Breaking rocks is what landed him in prison. When he got out of it, there were other rocks waiting for him. Sadly enough he didn’t manage to break those of African tribalism and nepotism.
I don’t think any of that negates how far he got with what he had. I also think he managed the follow-on situation with grace and skill; his ability to unite his bodyguard detail—even though they were at each others’ throats—was nothing short of amazing. He could have simply amplified divisiveness and tribalism, but took the high road instead.
I think we can be easily surprised by what we CAN do versus what we will do. You’re right. “Do what you can” always seems to carry some note of negativity and/or apathy. It sounds like someone is giving up or reducing their expectations.
I like the saying “Something worth doing is worth doing badly until you get good at it.” Then there is “Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” The point, which I think is the one you are making, is that we shouldn’t let our disappointment in what we are currently capable of from discourage us from making an effort, because, if we do that, then failure is guaranteed.
Kent Wayne 
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