As the author of the original post, I might as well weigh in with my current perspective.
First, the tiny sliver of good news, at least for me. My 2020 'feels' pretty similar to 2019 so far. Even in these early days of the virus ravaging the planet (and yes -- these are still the early days -- it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better), my sales 'seem' pretty flat to last year. I say 'feel' and 'seem' because a few years ago I stopped doing detailed, daily tracking that I had been doing my first 8 years in micro. It had become too depressing tracking the downward spiral. So now I'll occasionally check SS or AS to see how much I made in the same month a year ago and based on these infrequent checks, I'm holding the line.
Now for the bad...
I decided a year or two ago that continuing to upload at a breakneck pace was pointless. New uploads just don't sell. For me anyway, they take a while to get noticed and then start selling. And this lack of instant gratification has been seriously demotivating. So now, I'm uploading a small fraction of my old daily output, for two reasons: I still get a bit of creative fulfillment, and I fear that if I completely stop, my sales will drastically drop. (Still have to 'feed the beast' just to keep it alive.)
My overall micro revenue is down about 1/3 from its peak in 2014. At that time, it accounted for half my total income. I was comfortably supporting a family of six on my two incomes, and thankfully I had saved a lot for my kids' future college tuitions. Now the kids range from midway through college to about to start, and that financial burden is no longer a concern. So in a large way, my objective for microstock has been met, and my expectations for it to be a big money maker for me are no longer there.
Plus, my 9 to 5 career has done well as micro has been sinking -- earning a fair amount more in my "real job" than I did in 2014. So I don't lose sleep over micro's future. With the risks much lower for me, I'm even considering what I'll do when the inevitable happens and the big agencies start cutting our royalty rates. I'm toying with setting up a site that could eventually give away all my work for free, supported by Google and affiliate ads. Prior to doing micro, I ran a few sites like this and made a decent side income from it, and I may just return to those roots if and when the big players slash my micro income to the point of being a footnote on my tax returns.
So, thanks microstock, it has been a nice ride, and I'll continue to enjoy the view as the train slows for its eventual stop. But when that day comes, I'll move on, thankful for the experience but ready for the next chapter.