The usage, and resulting culture, of Python has changed a lot since 1999 when that was published. I think the language and ecosystem could have been improved without abandoning this principle with specific efforts, but I'm not sure those efforts would have been helpful overall. They'd have likely impacted the growth/success of it.
Strict adherence to this principle would not allow the language to evolve and improve.
I've always interpreted this as to establish Python as being antithetical to the Perl idea of having a hundred ways to do something and trying to do it in the most clever way, readability be damned.