Is the standard of chess declining?

An influx of new players because of COVID ror because of "The Queen's Gambit" changes the rating of everybody. An influx of weaker players donates rating to the pool as their rating goes down from their initial rating. An influx of stronger players bleeds rating from the pool as their rating rises from their initial rating.

I agree, Bumvinnik.

I haven't noticed any significant changes to my play except that I play faster and I can find the top moves faster than I used to 

That's weird. Shouldn't there be a single rating for all styles of chess and then the different skill levels for chess that we have now?

I suspect that once you have been pigeonholed into a certain bracket that's where you will for the most part stay. I suspect that the server uses algorithms that pitch you against players that your typical style will either win or loose again.