This is very common for people who have written code in pre llm era itβs just natural for people to remember basic syntax if you have written code in language for a decent amount of time.
If all you have done is tabbed your way to code, you wont subconsciously remember any syntax.
I cry with tears when I have to take an interview only to see the candidate fumble the most basic syntax.
I'm unsure if its AI but it feels like jr devs or devs in general aren't hands on coding much and I'm unsure how I feel about this.
An argument can be made that we don't need to memorise code anymore, but it just feels sleezy and boring talking to someone who cant code themselves.