Originally posted by The One Himself
How did the former "Ones" wake up their powers if there were not former "Trinity's" or similar in the early versions of the Matrix? Suggestions? 😕
Because we really only have basic knowledge of the former Matrixes, I think there is no way to truly answer your question, but let me give it a try.
First, don't think that everything was exactly the same in former Matrixes. There were different versions, but that doesn't mean every person was the same. As humans died in their pods, they were replaced with new ones, who thought differently. My guess is that in previous versions, there was someone similar to Morpheus and Trinity, etc. but they were not the same person. Just like humans had 2 World Wars and umpteen "Crusades" that doesn't mean they acted exactly the same way. Both wars and all the crusades had cooks, infantry, commanders, kings, etc. but they were different people with different emotions, actions, etc.
Second, the prior "Ones" could have found their powers in different ways. Maybe saw his mother killed by an agent or was more open to the idea of being the One.
Third, technically it was Trinity's love and belief in Neo that brought him back to life and showed him he was the one. BUT, that doesn't mean he also loves her. In prior versions, he might not have had as much as a connection/love for Trinity as this "One/Neo" did. That resulted in Neo chosing the door to save humanity, rather than Trinity. The difference in the verision we see is that Neo has a much stronger connection than in the past.