Periods of stagnation in the market are common as is swings. Observe the long term charts and you will realise that the yearly volatility is usually under 15% and thus I would not compare the market to be that volatile that it can be said to be non-volatile now. It rather remains in its own movement that is often exaggerated as too high or too low.
Overall I think the stagnant market will be a good time to buy at the low since it's much lower than all time highs. But a trader should keep both cash and Bitcoin at hand to face the upcoming bull or near market respectively. If the market remains stagnant, just observe and wait it out.
The fact that we are not volatile this year doesn't mean we weren't last year or won't be next year neither. The thing about volatility is that it happens time to time and that is why it should be considered different from other stuff. We should be considering this as a thing that needs to be something that changes one way or another and should be a bigger deal.
I hope that it could get to a point where we could just end up with a good result if we just put our mind into it. This is why volatility should not be expected at all moments, and I agree that stagnation is the most regular and common thing we can see on this market, it just happens all the time and should be normal and expected without a doubt.