High fees have only ever been needed to make ASAP transactions, you could always pay less than the most expensive fee, just with a delayed confirmation depending on how little you paid.

Anyone who paid high fees in the past thought it was worth it, they needed a fast payment. They would find a way to wait otherwise.

And it'll always be like that, there will be quiet times (when it's a good time to set up payment channels or tidy up dusty outputs in your wallet), and there will be super busy times, when you sit back and let everyone do what they should've done months ago. Bitcoin network congestion is a bit like Christmas shopping lol, there's always plenty of masochistic people who just love to all go together on Christmas Eve.