I thought Leonova was gifted with that silver medal last season and that it should belong to Akiko. As to why Leonova has bottomed out this year, I have no idea. Is she going through something? Maybe she got into her own head and let the fact that Adelina and Liza were full seniors psych her out to the point she forgot how to land a jump.
IDK though...she just looked sad all season long. I think it may be something else. Either way, she's had a flat out terrible year. The upside is Adelina and Liza are looking much stronger now and hopefully they'll continue to build up to Sochi. If Julia can rest up and get over her injuries (and get a better choreographer) the three of them would make a very impressive triumvirate for Sochi.
I think what you wrote can be quite likely. Both Adelina and Liza had a very strong past, winning most of competitions they entered (or they at least medalled) and they beat Leonova at Russian nationals the last few years. So she would have been worried about them becoming seniors. With jumps it is often a matter of confidence; if you are confident, you will land much more than if you doubt yourself. It must be easier to feel confident when you know that you are the best Russian eligible lady and that there is no one else the Federation can send (which was the case with Leonova the last few years). But suddenly youngsters grew up, Adelina and Liza are now eligible and with every year there will be more and more coming through. They all have triple-triple combinations and Leonova knows that they can easily outjump her. They probably wouldn't have immediately as high PCS, but after a few seasons of being consistent it will come. So it must be really hard for her to feel confident. And as a results her jumps are suffering.