Jana wrote:If Perry never got into that hiking accident.........................
.................... he would have come up with another excuse.

+1
Remember, as the legend is told, Perry practically had to be marched back to the band at the point of a bayonet. Apparently, he was still on the hook for one more record with Journey. Once that obligation was fulfilled, he was looking for an exit.
I'm firmly in the camp of those who believe that if it hadn't been the "hip" situation, it would have been something else. From the sound of his voice on TBF, which was tired & ragged, he likely knew he wasn't going to make it through another one of Journey's legendary marathon tours. Not with that catalogue.
To me, the most telling thing is that Perry never put out another record.