I used Linux before Steam came to Linux, those were the good old days where every game required tinkering in WINE. I actually didn’t have a Steam account until it came to Linux, and then I played only a handful of Linux-native games (Rocket League was one of them).
When Proton came to Steam, a whole new world opened up, and now I can basically assume a game will work and I’ll be right more often than not.
So from my perspective, it wasn’t a rocky start at all, but a gradual widening of my gaming library. I’ve since played a ton more games, so I’ve rewarded Steam for the effort.