not sure if it appears as frequently as it used to in 2.3 if you play in frantic mode [meant to simulate 2.3 chaos by dampening EXP's effects, ergo more power items for everyone at all times] but its defininitely super rare to see it in normal races now in 2.4

it is still there, but due to its power [and difficulty to use], it has now been relegated to a high EXP catchup item, meaning you'll only see it if you've basically frontran most of the race and get punted to the back for whatever reason [but it did get removed from appearing in gear 1 entirely]

To this day the highest flex I've managed to achieve in this game is getting 1st in Suzuka Short after a lot of practice
[and yet, while I practiced not using IBS in most turns, here I had to use IBS at the final turn ever lap due to how easy it is to mess up that last turn]
youtu.be/gmFXr2shY50

sometimes I feel the same, but most of the time it feels more like I'm missing whatever spark I had months ago when I did most of the tracks I made