HODL means buying and holding crypto for the long haul. YES, HODLING still holds to make profits,though the instability of the market seems not to support this crypto term of "HODL", as there are always fluctuations, But overtime we have seen prices go down and then comes up within a short period of time,It's one of the features in crypto can used by several reasons (which includes government regulations) and it should be understood as such.
well there are coins coming from campaign and airdrops, though in that case even if you hold or not that's a free coin and a guaranteed gain. In investing in crypto i think right now hodling is not a good option, you will miss those slight ups if you keep on hodling your coin because bearish market always make a declining price from time to time.