I legitimately don't struggle with this. I have the "root" note which opens by default whenever I reset my Obsidian vault and it shows three lists:

1. most recently updated notes

2. most recently created notes

3. notes I've added to my favourites

On top of a search bar that doesn't suck, this is pretty much all I ever need.

As for "AI", it's never going anywhere near my notes. It's supposed to be my second brain filled with content I've bothered to write down for myself. "AI" doesn't write it, "AI" doesn't process it, and I will never be convinced to change that. I use "AI" extensively, but this is a hard line that I will never cross.