".. and yet the airshow and DA circuit carried on experimenting with 'how low can you go' when it came to currency and recency."
I think that this is trying to tar all display pilots with the same brush. Whilst I agree that this may be applicable to some display pilots, others are very professional in ensuring that they have adequate practise in order to display safely and well.
One other aspect to consider is that the current culture is to look for a regulation to address every aspect of flying and to mitigate every risk. The requirement and expectation for pilots to exercise judgement and to be trusted to do so no longer seems to have the same gravitas that it once did; obeying regulations seems to be all that is expected.