Here's some actual data you can look at: https://mempool.space/graphs/mining/block-fee-rates#all
Look at the "Min" fee rate; regularly very close to 1. That's $0.02 at current prices.
Of course you can even pay 0 but you know it's not the normal someone would wait days for the transaction going through.
You clearly did not use Bitcoin often enough otherwise you could just looked the spikes up yourself. That first corona year was even worse with the fees.
I literally posted a source showing you it's very cheap. The minimum fee is the lowest fee you'll pay to get into the next block.
I used Bitcoin way back in 2010. Though I don't understand why that makes a difference since you can look up the prices in hindsight.