And certainly Alex and Geddy agree.
But what were they supposed to do?
As the interview alludes to, Alex was jamming at Geddy's home (they've been childhood friends since grade school) and they were just like, "These are our songs! We want to play then again!"
And here we are. And they're sounding great!
At one of the tribute shows, Paul McCartney was either also playing or in the audience, and was back stage afterwards. Geddy sad that Paul asked him when they would start touring again. Geddy said they didn’t have any plans. Paul said something like “Well you must - it’s what we DO!”
I think that gave them a nudge. I’ve wondered if the RUSH stage, appears to be on top of a roof top with vents, antennas, etc. is a nod to the Beatles’ last reunion concert on the top of the roof (in NYC??).