History might happen again and just like that ending of that year. But, be open-minded that it could also be not. Many altcoins can go into bearish while some biggest altcoins can do bullish which is the opposite of the forgotten altcoins.
You are right, those who have been forgotten and do not have strong enough market support will be very difficult to rise from the situation. for those who have a large market, it might be easy and full of confidence to be able to rise. but for those who don't have a strong enough market, they might be forever down.
No longer that much volume and people are wiser this time. Most of us are not willing to go all-in with those not familiar coins anymore unlike 2017, almost any altcoin was pumping during that time but this time it will be different.
Of course, bitcoin will be the best pick no matter what is the status of the market and altcoins. That's a safer choice if you don't want to take risk with alts.