I was born in 53 so am familiar with those performers.

Much of the highly introspective whining that is not traditional sounding, muttering into a coffee cup contemporary singer songwriter fits your definition perfectly and that is why it is not folk traditional or even close. You can listen to it while having a root canal- white noise neutral like someone crying in the corner but a bit too far away about something that is really inconsequential.....

Undercurrent....always will be there....not where my music should be.
Traditional music like all other music needs to find stability. The ups and downs are hard on it creating loss, necessitating costly re-discovery. When I find a song in some obscure place I want it played and not pre-empted by some trendy hardly folk anything substitute.

I do not know why people are content to simply pretend that folk music has a life of its own. Actually it is a wonder that it has survived. If not for a select few of persistent individuals picking it up and giving it life when almost dead it would be gone now.

Even though you may still believe it is still there will be there does not need hope is there really anything wrong with bringing it to a higher level and bigger audience? Not really imho.

Leaving it be seems to me to be an excuse rather than a purposeful helpful response.

Conrad