Young people. That’s what you’re missing. 
These folks are about the age that we were when we played WoW way back when. It’s a different young adult culture these days. Back in the day, we could never be speed oriented because the hardware literally would not allow it. That’s not the case in the here-and-now.
It is what it is.
EDIT: Incidentally, I’m not saying that older folks are not speed-oriented as well, what I am saying is that the culture of today is what is driving this speed-oriented behavior.