There are 100% people who are the reverse. It sounds like you're optimizing for heads-down IC time, which I agree is more productive at home.

But for team building—which, in very early stage companies is huge—and quick identification and resolution, in-person can be much better, in my experience. (Not always! Person, team, role, etc. dependent.)

There's a HUGE difference between in-person meetings and over Zoom. Teams in person—again, my experience—can move much faster because you can process social cues, body language, attention right there. There's zero latency.

This isn't to discount the distractions you're talking about, or the trade-offs of commute and cost-of-living to be near an office, etc. Very real.

But saying that high performers are better WFH and potatos are better in-office is not a universal truth.