There was a time when doctoral candidates were told, "Congratulations, you've been accepted into a PhD program, so good luck!" That was about all they were told, and a big gap in the information left them wondering what to do, and how to do it.
Students who had attended university full time before, especially those with a research background, had an advantage in knowing how to design a study and write a thesis, but there were challenges for others.
With the start of the 21st century came a move towards part-time graduate studies and students who had to work and study at the same time, just to make ends meet. That meant that fewer students spent time in the hallowed halls of their universities, talking to other students and learning informally from seasoned professors.
Writing Centres began to spring up in universities because students lacked skills in academic writing. Business is an example of a discipline which rewarded short, Grammarly-like writing, rather than the richer, more scholarly academic writing.
But since about 2023, with the arrival of AI and other aids, graduate students have been turning away from help from coaches like me toward robot-supported help. For one thing, that's a lot cheaper.
Some good news is that I now see job postings that say "I'm looking for a real person to help me, with no AI." Perhaps things are beginning to swing back. Let's see.