ALMOST SOLVED:

field needs to be on a public and published tab as well as the field being set to show on profile (the tab can be in a not shown on profile position to hide it).

Is partially correct. Field needs to be:
1. public
2. published AND
3. IMPORTANT: On the tab you are using a conditional (can not use "hidden tab")

Working but showing too much info:

Affiliate (here) tab hidden:
wodrocket.com/pivot/index.php?option=com_comprofiler&Itemid=170

Athlete (here) displays tab BUT WITH THE QUERY FIELD SHOWING:
wodrocket.com/pivot/index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=userprofile&user=776&Itemid=153

The final question is how to hide the query field. Conditional will not work with "Show on Profile" = No