I think we're trending in the direction of "they" as a universal gender-neutral, third-person singular pronoun. As more and more younger writers like you use it, it just becomes increasingly common to see. Ten years ago it sounded a little strange to me sometimes. Now it hardly ever feels strange. And I'm 61!

Of course I'm quite thoroughly ensconced on the left as a queer person and advocate, but still.

English has pretty much always used they/them to meet the need for a gender-neutral pronoun for a non-specified person. The only people who ever objected were grammar prescriptivists. It's a small step only from using the gender neutral for a non-specified person to using it for a specified person.

This is the kind of small-step, natural language evolution that could easily take off and catch fire, and I think it's happening.