Yes, I think most early Bitcoin supporters would agree that things were much better when transaction fees were low and confirmation times were fast. Bitcoin is worthless if the underlying utility is broken.

It's unfortunate that the community wasn't organized enough to come a consensus on "scaling" ...

It was only a few months ago that it appeared as though the possibilities were endless. We had excellent "long-term" solutions in development (Segwit and Lightning) AND a good "short-term" fix ready to go (Blocksize increase).

As an early adopter I feel betrayed, that we were forced to choose a side, that politics trumped usability. It's toxic. Self-limiting, and difficult to "buy" into at this point.