I think some element of it might be: Shor’s algorithm has been known of for 30 years, and hypothetically could be used to decrypt captured communications, right? So, retroactively I will have been dumb for not having switched to a quantum-resistant scheme. And, dumb in a way that a bunch of academic nerds have been pointing out for decades.

That level of embarrassment is frankly difficult to face. And it would be devastating to the self-image of a bunch of “practical” security gurus.

Therefore any progress must be an illusion. In the real world, the threats are predictable and mistakes don’t slowly snowball into a crisis. See also, infrastructure.