I'm well aware of how pools work.
But Most of the hashrate ON those pools is provided by a very small number of very large mining operations. Yes there are thousands of smaller miners also but their contributions are comparatively minute.
And yes some people are able to mine from home still, but like you said it's a smaller number, and they're having to step up their own operations quite a bit.

I guess that was my point. Anyone can't just mine and have it be profitable anymore. An average person can't just decide they want to be a part of this and start mining bitcoin (and see any kind of real result) without it requiring significant investment, and living in the right place with the right electricity rates.

Maybe I'm just old and nostalgic for the olden days when you could fill up a USB hub with USB stick miners and have it feel meaningful.
On the other hand, it's pretty cool that this has been going on long enough to feel nostalgic about!