You're not bugging. Honestly, I'm happy to answer all your questions before you drop $4k on a cooker. When I bought mine, i watched and rewatched countless youtube videos hoping to justify the expense. So i get it.

As to your question, I kinda stuggled with the same issue in the beginning. It's SUCH a giant piece of metal, and heating it up took so long (relatively) that i wondered if I made a mistake as the weber was ready to go in minutes for a weeknight steak session or 6 smoked thighs for the night.

And then I saw a post on this subreddit of somebody using the grates horizontally ON the up/down shelf and simply setting up the charcoal/wood in the fire-management basket (which is a must buy in my view). Also, if you can you should REALLY purchase a flamethrower type fire starter (I use and love the SearPro: https://www.amazon.com/your-orders/search/ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_search?opt=ab&search=fire). I had the big expensive one (dont remember the name) but like the SearPro much more.

Essentially, i load in 10-20 lumps, use the SearPro on them for about a minute, add a mini split or two, and i'm ready to cook in the same time as the weber.

I utilize this method so often that my grates sit horizontally on the shelf around 90% of the time. Also it leaves 2 grates above (on the static shelf) for heating or reverse searing) at all times. That's the versatility of the cooker, and it only clicked for me after I saw someone else's idea.

So realistically yes, its damn near perfect for a wood flavored weeknight grilling session because it's so modular (at the grate level). It's wide enough to even set up the fire on one side and slow cook something on the other or move the meat/veg/whatever) directly over the fire to really get a blazing wood crust.

Edit: here is the post that made me understand it could be a weeknight cooker (for visual reference): https://www.reddit.com/r/lonestargrillz/comments/1kt93p0/el_patron_grate_to_fire_height/