Have you been using plain React, or have you been using a layer on top? I have found that React itself (complemented with React Router and a state management library such as redux, mobx, or similar), but many of the layers built on top of React to make it "simpler" including Next.js and Create React App add a lot of complexity.
It used to be that the build system for React added quite a of complexity (when it was webpack), but with modern alternatives like esbuild and vite that's no longer the case either.
It used to be that the build system for React added quite a of complexity (when it was webpack), but with modern alternatives like esbuild and vite that's no longer the case either.