Just posted about Qubes a minute after you did, but I don't find it painful or even time consuming. Initially there was a learning curve, but even if the security of Qubes became the same as the security of a baremetal OS, I would still use it.

When I'm trying to get some software up and running, I've had issues with Debian many times, as well as with Fedora. Rarely with both. With Qubes after a few minutes of trying on Debian and running into some obscure errors, I can just say "fuck it" and try with Fedora, or vice versa. Over the years it has saved me more time than the time I've invested it learning how Qubes works or dealing with Qubes-specific issues.

I also don't have to care about polluting my OS with various software and running into a dependency hell.

If a VM crashes or hangs, it's usually OK, as it's just a VM.

It's much easier to run Whonix or VPNs without worrying for IP leaks.