Maru seems spiritually retired

He got to top 4 and only lost to GuMiho and Serral in Home Story Cup, which was still within his normal range of performance. But his recent 0-3 performance in Master's Coliseum, especially the loss to Lancer, just seemed that he didn't practice at all.

It seems that he already have very low confidence of a EWC 2025, and given his achievements, health condition, and prize and salary income in the past, it's indeed hard to get motivated to the remaining small tournaments. The next Major tournament, LiuLi Cup, didn't even invite him.

The big difference between Home Story Cup and Master's Coliseum is that the Chess.com thing didn't happen back then. So maybe that's what stopped him.