The whole "open" source system is marching backwards towards inscrutable IDEs that do work by magic and leave the user clueless.
When I'm getting someone started I usually say:
"There is a magic incantation involved in Python development called 'activating your virtual environment' - if stuff isn't working as you expect, check that you have done this. Development environments are the hardest thing about learning to program. I'm so sorry."
When first learning python and virtual environments, it took me a little bit of time to understand that the virtual environment is basically a clean slate.
The command above saved a lot of time. I’d go so far as to having a set of requirements files ready to go for certain types of projects just to get started.
I've never become a Python fan, but I really don't think it's even usable without virtual environments.
But as a software project, Python is mayhem. pip+pypi is an embarrassment. After the difficult 2.x -> 3.x transition, the 3.x->3.8 period inflicted a world of pain on anyone trying to develop and deploy stable tooling.