Les, it's up to each player to decide how they want to play. I'm not sure that conscience enters into it.
The significant type of assistance that some players possibly use is to copy the words from a computer generated list. This is not hard to do, especially for nine-letter puzzles: there are plenty of websites and apps that allow you to create "Target" style puzzles using the letters you nominate, and then look at the solution.
Also, for the Standard Chihuahua daily puzzle, you can look at the solution on the Chihuahua site itself, using a different player ID.
I can't see the fun in using these techniques, especially day after day, if this is what some people do. But if it gives someone a sense of achievement, good luck to them!
I'm not sure how keeping a list of words will help someone to "quickly bolster their score". Most of us probably possess a big list of rare and common words, called a dictionary. But looking through the dictionary is not likely to be a very quick way of finding words that can be played. On the other hand, a shorter list, that can conveniently be read through completely each day, is not likely to contain any words using the letters available in the current puzzle.
In any case, each player will decide their own favourite way of playing. (When I play, I don't use lists or computerised aids, but I play with a partner, which some people might consider is a form of cheating - two against one!)
And I agree with rogue_mother that we shouldn't be too hasty in assuming that players who do very well are getting some kind of assistance. Skill at playing the puzzle varies from person to person, so among the multitudes of potential players it is to be expected that a few will be a LOT better than the average. And of course, people who are that good will tend to play regularly.