It really did. But we have the last two years to make us feel better.

Sorry, French Press is 1A and Grinder is 1B for low tech.

Grinder is probably as low tech as you can get. A French press would pair nicely. James Hoffman on YT has a good tutorial. If you decide you want to keep going after that, a gooseneck kettle and v60. Then a scale. But starting with a French Press is as low tech as you can get.

Take as much time as you need.

I think this is in every industry, honestly. I had to leave the transportation (trucking) industry because no one could find loads. Construction has seen a dip. The worst thing is this is almost certainly poor management capitalizing on a pandemic for money and believing it would persist.