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> Why would someone (especially someone non-technical) spend the time to learn and write what's essentially code to make a diagram when the alternative is drag and drop?

An advantage, depending on context, is that it brings the diagrams closer to the code that they're modeling, making it possible to version control them and include the diagram generation in documentation build automation.

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They're not modeling code in many cases, they're modeling processes, products, and user flows. If you're building an app, your diagram is going to look a lot more like the things your users see in order rather than the code to make those UIs appear. E.g., the code for react-dom-router routing is going to look very different from the actual navigation patterns built on it (tree structure versus linear flow).

The primary need for diagrams is drifting further from the use case you're describing.

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