Yankel Berel- I think Chabad lost face when they u turned on the Rebbe being moshiach- because Moshiach has to be from the living. As they said then. That did seem the straight path forward. However, Hashem has a different path in mind, and we are where we are now. We still believe the Rebbe has a good reason to tell us all these Moshiach hints- even if the straightforward path was the other way. We also know that (remind me the source) it will be a test to believe in moshiach it will be like holding onto a flimsy rope- and towards the end the rope will be shaken. But we’re also prepared. We’re devoted heart and soul to The Rebbe, but our Rebbe had no life other than serving Hashem, and klal Yisrael. So we’re not giving The Rebbe any more than he gave us for sure- and much less. An arrogant person comes across as arrogant- and people dislike arrogant people. If our Rebbe felt the need to tell us these Moshiach secret stuff, it was only there to benefit our Avodas Hashem, and bring moshiach much closer, since the geula is more tangible to us who live by The Rebbes teachings, than ever.
Many Chassidim were uncomfortable with the intensifying moshiach sichos- we already have much to be proud of, and we didn’t want to become laughingstocks. But The Rebbe guided us towards our mission and let us with the keys.
That’s my bottom line. Also that I heard on this form that to think The Rebbe is moshiach is kefira etc. so I spent time doing my due diligence in learning and researching the topic. You can find my posts with sources in the 5 potential candidates thread.