Neutral spine does not exist in athletics
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Alexander Karelin, perhaps the best Greco-Roman wrestler, executing a gut wrench. Essentially he is forced to deadlift a man his size who is fully resisting him. Why is his back bent so much?
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Neutral spine has a place but in the world of athletics you will not find a perfect position. While this is only one example he had probably performed this move thousands of times in training and competition.
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The most stable position for the spine is a neutral spine with braced / prepared abdominals. This is why when it comes to heavy resistance training that position is still the gold standard.
The least stable position for the spine: fully flexed spine without bracing. This is where the spine is less resilient.
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The spine is a flexible rod that was designed to move. When attempting to overcome a load (ie lifting) for training purposes having the spine in an optimal position is ideal. Yes it is still better to deadlift with a stable neutral spine then to attempted from a flexed position. However I would also recommend athletes preparing their spine for non-optimal positioning as well. If the athlete is forced to go into a position they are unprepared for is when injury is more likely to occur. When they are forced to go into a flexed position like this then their spine will be more resilient to the force they are overcoming.
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. “You will regret not training in the position that you were injured” – @drandreospina
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You can’t move where you can’t move and you can’t build strength in positions you can’t move. If you can’t build strength then you will have less ability to absorb force which means your spine will be less resilient in those ranges of motions.