Hi, I'm not suggesting you are a troll albeit I would say that your post comes across as slightly condescending.
If you'd read my initial post you'd also know that it wasn't my parents' money I was using but my own, hard-earned cash. You seem to suggest there wasn't a shortage of pilots prior to the pandemic ... what about the IATA projections showing a shortage of pilots pre-Covid? As for a pandemic not being a surprise event... come off of it. I have a finance background - the level of fiscal spending and action taken by central banks to prop up ailing economies is unprecedented. The impact of Covid on financial markets has been far more significant than the 2008 crisis. This is mirrored in the impact on aviation.
I take the point that aviation is cyclical and appreciate your points regarding recruitment not being a realistic prospect for a good while. I would agree with you in that respect.