They really don’t, though. And that misconception is partially the point. People who’ve only seen D&D (or large, chunky systems) have a wrong notion about how difficult and time consuming learning and playing RPGs can be. If you think RPGs are only like D&D, then you’re not only wrong, you’re blind to the wider hobby. Which is fine, except for the spread of misinformation when repeating untrue things like “TTRPGs require a large investment of time and energy, more than watching a series on streaming or reading a novel.”
One-page RPGs exist. There’s hundreds or thousands of them. Rules light RPGs exist. Again, hundreds or thousands. Styles of games and gaming exist where there’s zero or very minimal prep ahead of time.
You absolutely can sit down with a brand new one-page RPG and a group that's never played it before and start playing in less than five minutes. People stuck in the D&D bubble simply cannot imagine that such a thing is possible. Yet it is. It happens all the time.
That's not true in the slightest. Everyone plays pretend. Literally everyone. All children, the world over, have played pretend. The only difference between what kids to on the playground and what we do around the table is we formalize it and think it's somehow "elevated" because we spend money on books reminding us how to play pretend and add dice into the mix. Our society pushes people away from imagination towards pragmatism. But even adults still play pretend when they imagine what it would be like to win the lottery or get the big promotion or be a movie or rock star. All we do is formalize it by turning it into a meeting and adding dice.
No, it's not a surprise. But it is disappointing. Especially when there are so many games out there that are so much better suited to do the things people seem to want to force D&D to do.