Not every staircase still leads somewhere.
Some paths were built for an earlier version of you. Some have deteriorated. Some are crowded by people who have made a home at the bottom of the climb.
You do not have to scale a broken structure simply because it is the entrance you were given.
Look again.
There may be another staircase, another door, or an entirely different level from which to begin.
Changing the route is not failure. Sometimes the life you are looking for requires a completely different way up.