I don't know that that charactization is accurate.
At a minimum you needed to implement an IList whos indexer creates the actual data when called. You would then set that IList on an ItemSource.
If you could not provide data synchronously you could return an observable object and raised property changed events when the data was available
I don't know if there were constraints that that unworkable for your scenario but my memory was data virtualization not being that much more code than WinForms.
Visual Studio introduced an interface that formalized fetching a page at a time so you did less bookkeeping when mapping indices to items for SQL like scenarios but I don't know if controls had better performance using that interface
What you're describing is a professional licensed engineer who has to among other things take out insurance because they are ultimately responsible for their decisions.
When deeply accustomed to privilege, attempts to restore merit often present as penalty.
Removing legacy preference in favor of merit is not penalization.
The article does not advocate admission based on racial preference.
It does point out that a level playing field allows more applications of merit from races that would traditionally be displaced.
https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.20049 https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.13280