Yes. You come up with a guy, play with him, see him start to succeed, become friends...and he is traded away at the brink of success.
Yes. That is demoralizing. I get it, the team isn't making any attempts to field a competitive product, but they are trying to develop one. So when one of those players does develop and they are shipped out. Don't pretend the guys left over don't feel that.
I don't think it is the pandemic. I think Elias just doesn't care about making a show for the fans. He certainly doesn't appear to be under any pressure from ownership.