I also got a lot of mileage out of a homelab.

I experimented with proxmox and ESXi on the homelab front. Now ESXi is at the business.

Same thing with different server setups (Dell / HP / SuperMicro). Gives you a good feel for updates, KVM options etc.

Same thing with networking - I'm wasting time on Mikrotik and it's pretty fun.

It can be handy as a pool of additional resources. I had a very built out homelab server (with new SSD drives etc). Leadtimes got long for some Dell Server configs, we needed something 1-2 days, just grabbed a box from home. With ESXi once the real machine comes in its not that hard to move stuff over.

The big win is experimenting with low stakes. I find I'm learning 2-3x faster in that setup. I can try something, reinstall worst case, reboot, KVM, and literally plug in very easily (I have a hardware KVM setup in addition to the iDRAC type stuff).