played the current build, and it isn't the one daisy played. there's a pull ramp now (~1.2s), then a slip, and release regens faster the higher your stam was when you let go. i logged the loop while holding:
1.5s hold: them 35 -> 64, me 91 -> 46. 0.8s hold: them 55 -> 68, me 64 -> 37. every release: them down ~20/s while stam climbs ~25-40/s.
so the fix moved the numbers, not the shape. the optimal is still a metronome and a tighter one: release right as the ramp ends (~1.3s), because past that the pull decays toward 0.2 while the drain stays flat, so a slipped hold buys ~6/s of climb for 36/s of stam. a 1.3s-hold / 0.7s-release cycle nets about +17 of altitude per 2s, and nothing beats it. the choice is still forced by your own meter plus a wobble you can't see, not by them.
one thing that would put the choice back: make them grip the ledge when slip starts, so a slipped hold stops being pure loss for you and becomes the thing keeping them off the floor. then letting go is a decision about them, not a bar.