That is the case.
Tbh, I don't know how the fact you don't see a blinding flash stops you from seeing Kizaru or even perceiving him with CoO and acting lol.
You can see a laser from the sidelines; you just aren't blinded by it.
Oda really said only the ones with great CoO can fight Kizaru, so what exactly is the problem?
You see the beam.
Your eyes communicate the beam to your brain.
Your brain processes that the beam is Kizaru.
Your brain prepares a defense.
You defend against Kizaru.
It takes too long.
With good CoO, however, your instinct defends against the beam before your brain even realizes what that was.
That's the difference.
Anybody can drift a car under the right circumstances. Only professional pilots can recover an emergency drift before even rationally thinking about it.