I like driving when I am not in a rush and not dealing with traffic…so basically never while commuting. I don’t mind driving to a friend’s place, or a long road trip, but bike commuting is superior for me. I don’t need to make weird sweeping assumptions since you said you live in a small city, but commuting traffic is a nightmare on many coastal cities and major metros, so it is probably not a lack of experience so much as you’re commuting in an area unlike most major metros.

I actually work from home now, but I bike commuted for over a decade, including for a couple years a one way ride of 22 miles. No matter how tired I was in the morning or how I didn’t feel like getting on the bike, I’d always feel better once I started going, vs a car which studies have shown saps your energy. Also, there is something magical about biking over a highway and seeing standstill traffic that you’d be in as you toodle along without having to stop.

Plus the calculus I always did was that by turning an irregular 45-75 minute commute into a guaranteed 93 minute commute meant I was spending at most an extra hour and a half to get 3 hours worth of a workout. That frees up so much time for leisure and means you don’t have to workout basically at all.