Hi Clyde,
It could be. Even with the motor mounts in good shape and the shaft straight, there could be misalignment of the shaft. Mine did that and I had to change the cutless after 3 years. The way I discovered it was to look real close after installing a new cutless bearing with a magnifying glass. I could see the rubber on the front side was pinched. On the back side, the rubber was pinched opposite indicating the shaft did not pass straight through. My old cutless bearing showed that skewed wear pattern. After aligning the strut (it was the real problem) I've had much better life out of the bearings. In fact I save each one and engrave the service period on them.
If you are interested in seeing them, I am also here in San Jose. I made my own cutless bearing puller and replace mine myself for just the cost of the bearing (available at Svendsens).
Allan