Granted, one admitted "usually they're cookie cutter and I don't read them" before praising mine... but I like writing real cover letters because it's a second chance to consider why/how badly I want to work somewhere
I craft them to the company/problem space, call out specific areas of interest. And sometimes halfway in I realize I don't care what they do enough to continue writing, so I save everyone involved's time
Perhaps the difference is because I write cover letters?
> Nobody reads cover letters.
This is demonstrably untrue. But if you said "not everyone reads cover letters," you'd be correct. But that's not a reason to not put in the effort to write them.