...I know I'm naive in the sense that I don't shoot professionally, but I don't see the $2500 1DX price premium over an R5 as clearly as I did before the R5 release. The strong points of the 1DX aren't so strong anymore.
That's not naive. Corporate pride and public relations notwithstanding, ultimately, Canon has to sell cameras.
The R5, if it delivers as promised (and currently there is cause for optimism that it will for stills shooters), leaves little space in the market for a body that will cost $7,000 and only offers better weather sealing and an integrated battery grip.
I do shoot sports professionally (or at least I did until last spring. I'll be limited to cross country and maybe golf and swimming this fall, with the hope that other fall sports will be possible in the spring). I bought the 1Dx III because it is tried and true and the III corrects the main issues with the II as far as I was concerned (better autofocus). At some point I will want to replace my 5DIV and if I do, it will be with an R5. Never say "never," but with the features the R5 offers, I don't think an R1 would even enter into the equation.
I know it's dangerous to extrapolate from a sample of two, but with the 1 series, small numbers of customers can make a big difference. If your viewpoint is representative of just a small percentage of enthusiasts and mine is representative of a small percentage of professionals, that's still a chunk of potential R1 sales. I would wager that most of the people on this forum drooling over an R1 are not going to buy one. Add to that the shrinking professional market and the disastrous impact of COVID-19 and I agree, I think the business case for an R1 got a lot harder with the release of the R5.
Now, I'm not saying it won't ever happen. Canon has the numbers, not us, but I suspect the camera has dropped several notches on the priority list.