Maybe I'm not understanding the original post, but I don't see this as being anything peculiar for the seasons of the last bunch of years. haven't we all seen the season being primarily reduced to an opening day event (or maybe the opening two days)? I thought it was a pretty accepted expectation that every year hunters are becoming pretty much part-timers. Many show up for the first day, never to return again. Or perhaps in days after opening day, a few hunters show up for a few hours in the morning and then disappear at lunch time. Also, most of what few hunters that come out after opening day are strictly sitters with nobody moving deer. Meanwhile, once the trauma of opening day takes place, the deer remain in super survival mode as long as there is even one hunter in their area, and they remain sitting tight in their favorite sanctuaries. It has nothing to do with super heavy harvests, or coyotes, or diseases, or any kinds of deer deaths because when the following year rolls around, there are as many deer as ever (+/-).
Let's face it, hunters are simply getting to be part-time participants with only a very tiny core of die-hard hunters (not enough to move deer). Not only are we losing numbers of hunters, but the dedication is waning as well. At least that is the way I have perceived recent hunter attitudes and participation in recent seasons.