Telling an adult onset swimmer to just "do what they are doing" is imo terrible instruction. Good swimmers are good swimmers because they did years and years of good swimming with very likely good feedback. They were shown how to do it and was taught how to do it. That's the part that is missing when you tell them to just essentially just "swim better".

ETA: Those great swimmers make it look easy because it's easy to them. They have 100% control of their body, they have complete awareness of everything at any moment of their stroke. It's clock work to their stroke, it's auto pilot for them. It just happens, but that's not really close to what adults are really able to get to. But yes that's what you want them to be mimicking, I just think telling them to mimick it is pretty futile when they mostly don't have anywhere close to the control/awareness in their stroke.

A D1 swimmer took 6 months off swimming and swam at the pool I coach at yesturday. "I needed a break from the pool and today was 1st swim back", yet gets back in the pool and has the most beautiful stroke, everything just fell back into place. The same thing happens to piano players or riding a bike, etc. It just clicks when you make it 2nd nature. It's a thing of beauty just how "effortless" it is.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II