Protestantism lost the worship of the early and current Church.
So to them, praying or pray to/ask is worship. In fact, with no clear worship, almost anything can be worship.
Showing respect to a religious figure is worship for example.
And many are clueless about what an idol is.
It’s a confusion of worship that is at the root of much of this silliness. Combined with ignorance on what an idol is, you get these nonsensical accusations of idol worship.
“to them, praying or pray to/ask is worship...”
Exactly - I tried to make this point in another post as well- Catholics worship Christ in the highest form in the mass/Orthodox in the Divine liturgy. Therefore we are free to love, pray with and to the saints, etc. because we know we are not worshipping them. Worship takes place in the mass.
As you point out that is exactly the root of this silliness!! No sense going in circles - the root of the problem must be addressed, and that is the true nature of worship.
PS - We can worship Christ outside of the mass, too of course, but the above holds true as to being free to love and have relationships with the saints.