If someone lacks the curiosity to click the word explore
The cries of every dev throughout programming history. Why are the users so stupid?
But the thing is, uses are stupid. People get confused if you put "sign in" instead of "log in'. If lots of people think that Mastodon is confusing then Mastodon is confusing. The consensus cannot be wrong. You might disagree with it but it cannot be wrong.
It requires a UX overhaul by someone who actually understands UX and researches it. I used to do UX as my job specialization and trust me everyone thinks it's easy and it isn't.