Manager laid off at 61 - should I go back to being an IC to avoid repeat situation

What are your thoughts on ramping up on coding and polishing some of my past skills and taking an individual contributor role again?

I was a middle manager for a few years and was always told by team members not to get in the weeds of the code. Unfortunately for myself, I trusted the team and did not pick up certain new coding skills or keep the ones I had polished, and instead, focused on FinOps as it was not currently implemented and was dearly needed by the company. I was able to help the company save good money, which got noticed by some upper management. Foolish me for listening and trusting the team. A boss decided they wanted the recognition themselves and restructured me out…

Feeling a bit tarnished and betrayed…