Do you thoroughly enjoy sitting in traffic and terrible drivers trying to crash into you? That's what he's referring to.

To me this sound more like that you’re perhaps not very experienced driver

Nah ... driven (and ridden motorbikes) plenty.

It can be plenty of fun on the open road or when doing it with friends and cruising around. But the moment there's traffic and the density of an actual city ... nah, there's something off about it for me. I only tend to notice it once I stop driving around for a while and then get back in a car. I don't mind driving, but there's something there for me.

I like driving when I am not in a rush and not dealing with traffic...so basically never while commuting. I don't mind driving to a friend's place, or a long road trip, but bike commuting is superior for me. I don't need to make weird sweeping assumptions since you said you live in a small city, but commuting traffic is a nightmare on many coastal cities and major metros, so it is probably not a lack of experience so much as you're commuting in an area unlike most major metros.

I actually work from home now, but I bike commuted for over a decade, including for a couple years a one way ride of 22 miles. No matter how tired I was in the morning or how I didn't feel like getting on the bike, I'd always feel better once I started going, vs a car which studies have shown saps your energy. Also, there is something magical about biking over a highway and seeing standstill traffic that you'd be in as you toodle along without having to stop.

Plus the calculus I always did was that by turning an irregular 45-75 minute commute into a guaranteed 93 minute commute meant I was spending at most an extra hour and a half to get 3 hours worth of a workout. That frees up so much time for leisure and means you don't have to workout basically at all.