That’s exactly my take. At that point in the universe’s history, the Enterprise was essentially the flagship of the entire Federation. You don’t assign the crew randomly for that, you pick the best possible candidates, and they’re all eager for the posting.
Like you said, Riker was willing to stall his career to serve on her.
Even the red shirts were the best possible red shirts in Starfleet.
It’s also relevant that Starfleet as a whole had become more established, and working in Starfleet more prestigious than in TOS era. So you had the very best of the Federation wanting to be there, and then having to prove themselves via the Academy in a way that previous eras didn’t (though, the extended universe kinda bounces around about that).
That’s exactly my take. At that point in the universe’s history, the Enterprise was essentially the flagship of the entire Federation. You don’t assign the crew randomly for that, you pick the best possible candidates, and they’re all eager for the posting.
Like you said, Riker was willing to stall his career to serve on her.
Even the red shirts were the best possible red shirts in Starfleet.
It’s also relevant that Starfleet as a whole had become more established, and working in Starfleet more prestigious than in TOS era. So you had the very best of the Federation wanting to be there, and then having to prove themselves via the Academy in a way that previous eras didn’t (though, the extended universe kinda bounces around about that).