that was before but crypto have growned alot now and add in the pandemic that also make people stay at home and they can be trying a faucet because they are starters. building a faucet can be profitable now if done right
I don't think it's profitable to run your own faucet. With the current high price of Bitcoin, faucet owners must offer very low claim rewards which can't be attractive, and it causes fewer visitors and less profit from advertising.
Just imagine, if you spend $1000 (in Bitcoin of course) two months ago to fill faucet balance, you would probably earn a lot more if you just hold Bitcoin and do nothing.