1) Since brew time is a function of temperature and ground size, K-pods can use hotter water and finely ground coffee to speed up extraction of the coffee grounds, even if it results in sub-optimal flavors.
2) K-Pods probably have a complicated supply chain that would make it hard to ship fresh roasted + ground coffee. I'm sure this could be circumvented somehow, but it would most likely require an expensive solution since it's so time sensitive.(ideally you have coffee ground just minutes before brewing, or at least less than a week before brewing.)
Honestly, instant coffee is probably the best solution for extreme convenience + great coffee. Folgers instant is awful, but companies like Sudden are trying to make a decent crystallized coffee: https://www.suddencoffee.com/
That was before Keurig had been bought by Green Mountain, though, and it seemed like they were trying to manage as good coffee as they could out of K-Cups. They were contracting mostly with specialty coffee roasters, and the K-Cups were filled with nitrogen to try and preserve the flavor. There were a couple I found that I did actually like, although I don't know if I would if I tried them again. :) My impression is that Keurig's quality control has gone down over the years, certainly with the machines, and one suspects the coffee.
I've heard of Sudden before -- positively, from people who really care about coffee -- but haven't tried them. I probably should. I've taken a few trips to places where the nearest good coffee was quite a distance away. :)