That expects those big discoveries. From what I can tell seeing several videos and reading blogs from scientists complaining about how their careers have suddenly become heavily heavily politicized working scientists are just that, working scientists. They slog through every day trying to make something new but they're not doing it because they're expecting some great amazing Discovery but because they are kind of obsessed with a narrow field of study and because it's their job.
By the time a young person makes it through a masters let alone a doctorate and is ready to start thinking about making actual discoveries they know the odds of actually doing that after everything that's been discovered before them. They will probably discover little bits and pieces but the enormous breakthroughs slowed down because frankly we did the low hanging fruit and if you're at that level you know it.