There is no particular incentive for these directors to convert their options into shares prior to the deadline, so I don’t find the lack of such action as concerning as you do.
A belief that the stock had bottomed would, IMO, constitute incentive to exercise and hold.
ij
It is astonishing what foolish things one can temporarily believe if one thinks too long alone ... where it is often impossible to bring one's ideas to a conclusive test either formal or experimental. J.M. Keynes