Once any of the 3 conditions in 9-3-8 are met, K can contact R. Think about it. Do you really think that on a kick to R's 1 yard line, no one is making contact until the returner touches the ball.

Precisely...and I'm trying to envision a time in the last 20 + years where I've seen a KO downfield and R wasn't immediately initiating contact with K anyway in an attempt to block / setup for the return....even by poorly kicked balls clearly going OOB. Within 1 or 2 seconds from the kick, usually 2 of these 3 conditions have already been met.