seems like a sad love story, waiting for a ship to return that never may. But don't worry, we're all gonna make it brah.
The markets we have at the moment are have ok (medium) volatility, and you can still make a good profit. 2008 was insane volatility. perhaps something you only get once every 20 years. But high volatility vix in the, 25 to 50 range, happens more often.
Having said that.. looking at a long term chart of the VIX. It stayed below 20 for about 5 years in the 90s (approx 1991 to 1996). And 3 years in the 2000s (mid 2004 to mid 2007). There was the odd spike up, but nothing lasting. So it might be a few a years before the vix goes above 25 again