Probably. Nothing lasts forever! If you followed a regular schedule of faithfully oiling and greasing all of the moving parts, in the steering assembly, you might have slowed the wear some. But, when you figure in the type of scene you are using the tractors in, Dirt especially, and with the engine cooling fan constantly blowing dirt and dust around, and also running it on a windy day, i would expect some wear and tear! And, thats why new steering and other parts, that are exposed to the type of work you are using it for, and the years of use, are usually available to fix the machine!
On the other hand, any lawn/garden tractor that has seen better days, after long hours of use, and maybe ill treatment, the owner should not complain about the lack of new parts, and just "soldier on", being creative in how to fix what broke!