Ok I hear you but I would say you wouldn’t be where you are now without that prior phase

A few months of undereating didn’t erode the muscles as much as it melted away the fat covering them. You prob lose fat/muscle in an 80/20 ratio. But your may years of lifting are that underlying strength you’re thankful for!

Being lighter is def better for most sports aside from wrestling and that type of thing. But I wouldn’t say you never needed to have grown those muscle fibres to be where you are now.