Still got that cold? That is less than ideal! I wouldn't worry about being effective anyway, got 359 more days in the year 😀
Saying that though... your perspective here about "token milking" is seriously on point. It's easy to get bogged down on the selfish acts of a few (is it even fair to say selfish if conditions have been laid down to deem the acts as normal?) when you're only looking at a small section of the bigger picture.
I think it's abundantly clear that time is the answer! How much time? that is the question!