For me unfortunately it has been
Step 1 install literally the most universally compatible distro possible
Step 2 audio drivers craps out. No fix is available. Trying to apply workarounds completely Bork the system
Step 3 install again. graphics driver is problematic, refresh it giving it MOS permissions. I miss the MOS permission screen at the reboot. Look for how to do obtain that option again. No easy way to do it at all. Bork the system again
Step 4 install again. Notice touch screen support is completely useless, and pen is not supported.
Step 5 Ask myself if keeping a 1200$ computer with tinny audio, no graphic hardware acceleration and a half functional display can be justified in any way. It can't.
Step 5. Back to windows. Bloated, but it works.
Unfortunately system support is still very iffy on some models. I'd really like to embrace the distro life but can't.
Without claiming that I would be able to fix any problems, I'm curious which hardware that is. In all honesty I can't remember the actual audio driver ever crapping out in the last 15 or so years. I find this fascinating and like to know more.
The set of hardware I've had most problems with had been various types of WiFi adapters from Realtek and Broadcom.
I've seen "Step 3: Buy a Mac" plenty of times for exactly that audience. They like tinkering as a college student and when they enter the working world they realize that tinkering all the time impedes their financial bottom line. Then they go from Linux fans to hardcore Linux haters ("it's for playing around, not serious work"), even though a convenience distro like Fedora would have solved all their problems in an instant.
It just works. I don't want to have to invest time in making my os work. I want to spend my time on my projects(which I use wsl for)
I totally understand the desire and satisfaction of having complete control over your os but a lot of people just want to be able to do simple stuff like game and browse the web which windows does just fine in my experience.
I'd argue Linux falls short on audience that needs a little more than browsing and simple games, but are themselves a little less than sysadmins. That's the audience that is really hurt by the transition. The rest (simple as well as power users) should be just fine.
Even still, with Windows being the mainstream option, it just goes as a no-brainer and a default solution for the majority of people, regardless of how good or bad it is.