[illuminant]

It isn't that you don't know how to do it any more. Humans are abysmal at relating to how long it takes to develop good habits, and how quickly bad habits form.

I've stepped away from coding for over a year, and a few profound things happened. Firstly, I could once type at around ~120 wpm, after my hiatus that dropped down to 40-80, and has been down there ever since (over a decade.)

Secondly, I couldn't get myself to sit the f-down and just do the work, not for a long while anyway (longer than one thinks it should.)

I became a less conventional team dev and a sort of a code ronin. My skill for systems design and abstraction have grown and enhanced yet I have never again known the enthusiasm for the grind I had in my earlier days.

So yes, I can see how someone discouraged or ready to move on could "leave it all behind." Though I have seen how there are cycles for everything and some things merely turn into something else in their own due time.