Personally, I don’t fly at all if I don’t have to. I’d rather drive 99% of the time, unless I’m getting into the realm of 3+ days each way.
When I do have to fly, I pack as light as possible, and go carry-on only, like you state.
Delta has started to require more bags be checked. They used to check a quite a few at teh gate for free. Now they are making you go back to the ticket counter and pay the fee.
If I can drive, I will gladly do it.
The first air travel for me was in the mid 80s and it wasn’t a whole lot. During the 90s, maybe a couple of times and things seemed to be going downhill a little. The past few times on different airlines, conditions have definitely gone downhill.