it raises the question: do the other players (even BEFORE this year) just know that he sucks? Maybe that realization is a reason that they play with no energy
I would say that it would be impossible to support any argument that they haven't known since at least March.
Like Quincy Carrier says: we're just seeing it for these games this year, but they've been practicing with him since the spring and have seen daily what he is.
Additionally, I think we can say with certainty that this is who he has been all along since he got here. The couple of decent performances he had were the anomalies.
He simply sucks, there's no way other players don't see it and know it, and the only question is whether or not it is intentional.