No degree seems to be a bigger gate now than it was the last time I was searching

I did have one surprise rejection during a screening call due to the fact that I had 4 years of compsci but no degree. I don't recall that happening before in ~30 years. I don't believe it was listed as a hard requirement, else I wouldn't have applied.

   requirements, even for lower roles, seems to be higher than before.

ie - React shops were cool with my recent Vue experience as a substitute, since I was primarily a backend guy anyway

Not rejecting your experiences, just adding to the anecdata