It was a never a velocity problem though, rapid progress comes mainly from designing better systems and building tight abstractions not by writing using the same primitives faster

I can't agree more strongly. I've seen folks flail at very high velocity, I've even done it myself. It's a thinking profession, not a typing one. Making the right choices at the right time can save you months or years (or cost you that).

The people that don't value good design will absolutely have a lot more rope from which to hang themselves.

That certainly used to be the case.

Do you think that in 2026 maybe rapid progress can also come from using the same primitives faster?

I'm still figuring this out but I'm certainly open to the possibility.