I'd push back on this a bit. Bare RN isn't "just works" for most teams, even if it works for you. You've got five years in, know Xcode/Android Studio, and probably have solid CI/CD. That's not the typical junior's situation.
Expo's real value isn't the speed of expo init. It's EAS Build, which handles certificate hell and signing without you touching Xcode. That alone saves weeks of platform-specific pain for small teams.
Where you're right: the moment you need custom native modules, Expo adds friction. But that's like 20% of projects. For the 80% doing APIs and UI, Expo keeps you productive.
Different tools for different stages.