Masks do protect the wearer! And you do not need an N95 mask to do this. Even a simple homemade mask offers some degree of protection. This[0] was a good explanation of both of these ideas.

tldr: There is reason to believe that large droplets, not the tiny droplets that N95s are designed to filter, are the primary threat, and any sort of physical barrier between those and your mouth/nose will help.

[0]: https://medium.com/@Cancerwarrior/covid-19-why-we-should-all...