Even new projects have good reasons to use c++. Maybe the ecosystem is built around it. Maybe competent c++ programmers are easier to find than rust ones. Maybe you need lots of dynamic loading. Maybe you want drop-in interop with C. Maybe you’re just more comfortable with c++.

I agree with the discipline aspect. C++ has a lot going against it. But despite everything it will continue to be mainstream for a long time, and by the looks of it not in the way of COBOL but more like C.