Airline pilots are not poorly paid compared to the average income. Surely they can afford to pay for a few hours with an instructor and an aerobatic aircraft each year to maintain some currency even if the company won't pay for such training. Every other profession requires their practitioners to remain current with updated legislation, safety and training, frequently at their own expense. Why are (some) commercial pilots not keen to keep their skills as polished as possible?
Surely the aim is to be better than just holding the minimum skill set necessary to conduct a safe flight in benign conditions. Recovery from unusual attitudes and spin recovery was (and still should be) a vital part of basic flight training and recurrancy checks. Big aircraft can get into just the same attitudes as a smaller aircraft and the same techniques should assist in recovery, if possible without ripping the airframe apart.