Where do you get this kind of optimism? I would think time + rejected entry into the country would teach travellers to more vigilantly defer to the TSA.
In the chaos post 911 there was a lot of resources poured into the new Homeland Security and TSA agencies, as well as huge expectations. Rights of travelers weren’t the first priority, it was all about safety and national security. Only by the passage of time were they able to moderate their practices and adopt reasonable policies for treating travelers, especially edge cases. That and lawsuits. When the courts get involved, things tend to change rather quickly relative to lodging complaints.
I think this is a general dynamic. A familiar metaphor might be that of a startup’s journey from idea to stability at scale. It takes time and mistakes to figure out how to balance stakeholders’s interests.
I also think tech/eng UX practices have had such a cultural impact that customer experience and usability are more top of mind for decision makers and customers alike. Concurrently, ubiquitous pocket cameras and video distribution have held all kinds of law enforcement more accountable, including TSA. Commerce drives this. A sharp decline in flight travel due to draconian enforcement would be railed against by business and government interests alike. With some of the safety and security concerns waning, the pressure is on TSA to get out of the way.
I wouldn’t call any of that optimism per se, but I see how it could be perceived that way. Travelers most definitely did get taught to fear the TSA and it’s cost us tremendously. That fear is well-earned, and the panopticon + excessive policing powers still need to be corrected on a legislative level.