An important part of the definition of ‘max demonstrated’ is that “The airplane must be satisfactorily controllable without requiring exceptional piloting skill or strength.”
However, without any definition of exceptional piloting skill, the judgment of an individual’s skill is open to bias and enables an erroneous attempt to land when it should not be contemplated.
Often wind gusts and errors in wind measurement are not considered, nor is the ability to keep the aircraft on the runway after achieving the landing – there are many differing standards of runway surfaces (plus wet / slippery) which require respectful reduction in crosswind limits.
Pilots should consider carefully when they last demonstrated their ‘near exceptional’ skill. Consider if max wind conditions have been experienced before, if not then an attempt to land is similar to the manufacturer’s test flights, but it involves demonstrating (a real time assessment) individual ‘skill’ in the prevailing conditions, which may not be the same as would be chosen for test flights, they choose when to do the landing tests.
I agree with JT, and that the text in FAR 23 is misleading – you don’t know where the aircraft’s limit is or what the combined effect with your personal limit will be. All interpretations and assessments should be a rounding down of what is published. Just a personal opinion, but from someone who has demonstrated a few limits – aircraft and personal.