I understand your concern. However, there are a couple of considerations though that you didn't factor in.

The airline has use of the passenger's money for the period from booking until cancellation. That's legal consideration and value. Remember: Your relationship as a passenger is with the airline, not the other passengers.

Beyond that, I don't think "hedging bets" and "covering bases" are appropriate descriptors in the context of this situation. This is planning due to a personal matter that I won't detail except that it involves a very aged parent and the concern about being able to be there with my family should the worst happen at one specific point in time when other travel arrangements make the logistics especially concerning. It is a couple of months away, and I see no need to take such precautions between now and then, or after that, despite the grave situation. This specific set of circumstances warrants especial contingency provisions that I wouldn't even consider for lesser circumstances.

I also wouldn't have even considered this if there weren't so many examples of people being unable to get to family funerals and such due to such consistently high load levels. Modern transportation is responsible for the diaspora of families around the country (and around the world, for that matter) but we've squeezed the system so much now that gaps are left behind in its service to us at the most vulnerable of times. The airlines aren't doing anything wrong, but if there is a legitimate way, within the airline's rules, to take precautions ourselves, then I feel we should do so. If it was not to be done, then they should explicitly disallow it.