That is a perfect analogy for the modern SEO landscape! The era where simple tricks worked is over; Google's SpamBrain AI sees right through the "makeup" and easily filters out low-quality, manipulated links and content.
Black Hat SEO today is less about tricking the system for the long term and more about leveraging short-term windows for rapid profits on assets designed to be disposable ("churn-and-burn"). For anything intended to last past the next core update, you are right: building demonstrable E-E-A-T and trust is the only viable strategy.