mostly just for when I’d search for instructions on something an a YT vid was my only option.

That was basically what I wanted to use it for. There are several fairly reliable Invidious instances still left. yewtu.be comes to mind and inv.nadeko.net. But it's hit and miss, and it gets pretty janky having to refresh the instance, then pick a new instance, then Anubis weighs your soul to see if you are allowed to view content. But, like you say, if that's the only video tut you can find..... I usually just download the video and when done, delete it. Trying to jump through YouTube's hoops is a futile endeavor. They've made it so painful to watch content on their platform while still trying to retain as much of your data as possible. Screw 'em.