if a centralized authority like Coinbase is providing you access to the wallet, then you can recover it!
We have a completely different view of the benefits of centralized authorities. I think mine is based on reasoned evidence and historical precedent. If you don't own your private key, you don't own your bitcoin. History shows over and over and over again how dangerous it is to trust central authorities with your wealth. There are much, much better ways to securely store and backup your private keys than trusting them to someone else. Central exchanges create a huge target for hackers and have a horrible track record for avoiding security issues. I mention some of the steps you can take as an individual in episode 3 of UBF.
Agree to disagree :)
I personally know too many people who lost their bitcoin investment when MtGox went down. I can not agree with centralized thinking for a decentralized system. Opposing the view you have was why Bitcoin was invented in the first place. I hope you recognize this and take responsibility for those who may lose again in the future based on information they get from you.
I agree we disagree, and I'll still argue your perspective can (and has) harmed people. I think we can do better and teach people personal responsibility when it comes to cryptocurrency.