Before Proton, I wasn't able to consider Linux as a viable solution for home computing at all. I could set up and manage a pihole, and salvage an old laptop to use for word processing and email, but couldn't run anything my family or non-techie friends were familiar with.

Sure Wine was a thing, but I think for most casual users it wasn't worth the hassle.

My first attempt with Ubuntu 15ish years ago was horrible; almost nothing worked, GPU support was trash, it was just an all around miserable experience.

With proton, stuff just works. It's like a whole new ecosystem now.