I think you’re probably referring to the lifecycle methods, which have relatively clear and unambiguous names in class components. The thing is, those names may make you feel comfortable that they do what their respective names imply, but in reality they’re an abstraction away from how React really works under the hood. Hooks, for better or worse, get you a little “closer to the metal,” so to speak.
Also custom hooks are vastly more readable IMHO than HOCs.