Because the static languages of the time, C++, Java, etc had serious deficiencies that made that style of static typing a hindrance. Type inferences, type class

Because the static languages of the time, C++, Java, etc had serious deficiencies that made that style of static typing a hindrance. Type inferences, type class style generics, and gradual typing have been huge wins for the ergonomics of static typing. Additionally IDEs have improved immensely since the 90s and static typing makes the experience much better. Finally I’d argue that the size of apps has increased a lot. Dynamic typing is great for small apps that you need to get out the door. Static typing shows its advantages in the long tail. The more people you have working on a codebase the more the static typing pays off. Typescript for instance was created specifically to manage large JavaScript code bases.