Sounds like the demographic of "tech person" changed. It used to be mostly hardliners back in the days of the thinkpad, but now it's filled with moderates who don't really feel too strongly about repairability and extendability.
It was always the standard kit of the stereotypical scruffy Linux hacker, but it was mostly just a really good laptop. The connoisseur's choice, reliable, repairable, and IBM would come to you and fix it on the desk if you paid them.
A lot of that demographic have switched to MacBooks or one of the many ultrabook-type laptops of a similar design language, and what's left is the crew who valued the ability to hack on the machine.
They were always there, but they're most of what's left.
It was always the standard kit of the stereotypical scruffy Linux hacker
In reality, modern Macbooks have a horrible reputation for repairability and engage in dark patterns to stop you from getting your device repaired even when it is an option.
Macbooks
* 2% fail in first 12 months
* 20% need replacing in 3 years
Lenovo:
* 20% fail in first 12 months. (Surprisingly high number fail out of the box)
* 80% need replacing within 3 years
I don't want a laptop that's easy to repair as much as a laptop that doesn't need repairing.