I think you missed the unspoken point of the article. The Seinfeld interview in particular is excellent, and maybe the best example of the last twenty years of "leaving on top". King honestly thought they were cancelled, because even then "ending early" was unheard of.

The point is that people get tired, they lose motivation, or they just feel that it's good enough. They lay down the gauntlet for the next programmers. Not in earnest, but in resignation.