• Schools have been cutting music programs since the 1980s in the guise of 'austerity' for the perpetual budget crisis that was created by giving corporations & billionaires massive tax breaks that they didn't need.

• Less contemporary pop music features the instrument (in the 80's and 90's the top 10 pop chart had multiple songs that featured sax pretty much constantly). Also, ugh, Kenny G was really popular for some reason back then. Guitar is having the same problem as sax re player numbers today for pretty much the same reason, but at least guitar has Taylor Swift.

• It's hard to practice a sax if you live in an apartment/small house. No real way to mute/muffle a sax. Gonna be a rough couple years as the kid learns how to not be actively terrible. Many parents can't take it.

• Buying or even renting a band instrument is a financial hardship for lots of families. Even a starter/entry level alto sax (the cheapest) can easily break $1k. An actually decent intermediate (aka the cheapest one worth actually owning) sax will run you like $2,500 easily. Add like $500 or more if you want a tenor or another sax less common than altos.

$1,250-2,500 is a lot of money to spend on a hobby you have no way of knowing if the kid will ever stick with.

Meanwhile you can download a free app for your phone and instantly start making beats and producing your own electronic/hip hop music, which is the type of music kids today are hearing and being inspired by.

radio pop was progressively homogenized from the 70s on. And it got consistently louder. Instrumental diversity was just one casualty.