I've seen several Rails apps where all the mentioned signs happened, and all of them were apps that didn't use the Rails-Way.

And this is accelerated by design patterns that blow up the amount of components used. Then there's the problematic gems such as Trailblazer that cause more problems than they solve, while being difficult for both humans and AIs alike.

Reminds me of the quote from Fred Brooks: "Show me your flowchart and conceal your tables, and I shall continue to be mystified. Show me your tables, and I won't usually need your flowchart; it'll be obvious".

Service Objects et al are flowcharts. Rails-way is tables.