That anecdote is hilarious and scary in equal measures. Optional passwords are certainly more convenient than required ones, but so are optional PINs. The most convenient UX would be never needing to log in at all! Unless you find it inconvenient for others to have access to your bank account of course
I really hate the current trend of not having passwords. For example perplexity doesn't have a password, just an email verification to login.
And the counter where the most secure system never allows anyone to log in ever