I challenge anyone to earn 5b with smuggling, combat or exploration and tell me that 1) they kept learning and improving a lot right until the end, 2) they kept overcoming novel and difficult hurdles.
Hardly anybody complains ED is too difficult: if anything it is far, far too easy. The complaint is that progress is too frequently measured by the 'ability' to endure repetition devoid of challenge.
You described how I play right there. I have 7.4bCr in my pocket & about double that in total assets. I don't exploit, I don't mine, I don't rely on 3rd party tools, I just play the game. I never completed Ram Tah's mission or opened the door to a Thargoid base or killed a big Thargoid, and every day is a school day even after 9,000hrs of play.
Some of the game is easy because I'm experienced, once something can be done it becomes a matter of how much of that can be done rather than whether it can be done at all.
There are areas where it is very easy to follow a guide & progress far more quickly than I have, but imo that just allows newer players to catch up in terms of assets to longer term players like me to keep the playing field level.
There are some challenges that are not what they were, but for the most part it is still entirely possible to set huge personal goals in a way that most games just don't have the scope to provide other than speed runs maybe.