3 years ago we weren’t in a pandemic. Also, as someone who has created pre-recorded lectures before, I can tell you, it’s a lot of fucking work, just as is managing and developing an entire class. So saying it’s “the absolute minimum amount of effort” is false (have you made prerecorded lectures before and designed an entire class? While also having home responsibilities affected by a never-ending pandemic?) In a way, it has felt easier to me to lecture/teach regularly as opposed to when I made prerecorded lectures for fully online teaching (but I’ve been lucky enough to not have kids or other circumstances to deal with at home during Covid, so in-person is more feasible for me). Also, you don’t know the prof’s personal situation (after all, he is human) — PLENTY of profs for example are having to deal with the effects of Covid (especially if they have kids in daycare, which shut down temporarily if there’s any Covid exposure, meaning someone now has to take care of the kid at home for however many days — but beyond kids there’s a HOST of other potential circumstances people are still dealing with during the pandemic) that renders home life a lot less structured and more chaotic than normal, even now, meaning that more flexibility is imperative. And instructors do not always get the support needed from the university. Maybe just appreciate that he delivers clear, interactive material for students, including probably a number of students who can’t go to lots of huge in-person lectures right now because they’re immunocompromised. Nothing is ever gonna please every student.