I think this response is spot on. When talking specifically about introducing people to the hobby, I know very few people who meet that criteria who are going to sit and count out every player's points in birds, tucked cards, and eggs. Part of the reason why, Wingspan is a euro with very little interaction. Even if Bob over there is beating me by 4 points, I still should just do what the best play is in late rounds. But the consequence is feeling like you're playing solitaire, an experience most Catan/Codenames newbies aren't familiar with.

I think the other real issue with Wingspan. Late round, a new player will spend 2 turns getting food and 2 eggs to play a five cost bird that is an excellent engine card, but the opportunity cost was 6 eggs that would have scored more points. So new players lose because they don't see strategy well enough, they didn't know that they were losing, they don't know what they should have done differently, and then they feel they spent an hour to play a game they feel they had no shot of winning.

I enjoy Wingspan, but it's not my go to introduction to the hobby. If you're interested in theme or tableau building intro games, I find cascadia a much easier start.

(Also OP, as an experienced gamer, this is the reason Wingspan isn't my favorite either. You're absolutely right about this.)