I would say they were closer to the problem but not necessarily the physics of them. And that doesn't really have anything to do with why their solutions were simple and robust, they just didn't have any other choice in how to build things. Their limited knowledge and manufacturing capabilities made designing complex solutions difficult and they were robust because they didn't understand the physics well enough to build them with slimmer margins.

There's a saying along the lines of "It doesn't take a great engineer to make a bridge that stands but it does to make one that barely stands.".

As for being approached with the same care, well that's hard to say overall. I don't think you'd see a project like the James Webb be successful without the care of alot of people though.

I do have mixed feelings about the education requirement that is a wall for some people. I know alot of folks that could probably have had great careers as engineers but were stopped by the high end math needed for the degree. I also know many people that have zero engineering intuition that made it through and work in the field.