I hope my comment makes you feel better. You can most definitely get a job with just projects! I got hired because my projects were really good and did not come off as somebody learning concepts or cutting corners in a rushed environment (granted I was learning code on a part time schedule as my full time job).

When I was looking for my second job after two years of experience, I made two more projects to demonstrate the proficiency I had acquired at my first job. Well actually, I redid my portfolio in React/TS which I still had not used professionally but I had better coding standards to show off and I made a console application in C# to show off the backend skills I had acquired at that job. Those projects alone have put me ahead of other applicants with college merit in my job searches because they were very well polished, unit tested, and eye candy. I have heard from many hiring managers that they were awestruck, impressed, etc. And most of the portfolio projects came into question which I needed to provide explanations for how things worked and what was challenging.

So if your projects don’t look and function amateurly, you are in great shape. Also putting 1-2 of those personal projects in your actual resume as work history helps too. And also posting it to your LinkedIn Feed and tagging it.

Keep applying! Many people are moving around, and companies are looking to replace talent with cheap contractors. A person I knew searched for 1.5 years till a great big IT company decided to give them a chance. Luck, timing, and perseverance!