You can just use a custom launcher.

I've been using Nova Launcher for so long I couldn't tell you what the normal homescreen looks like right now.

its still there on my pixel 9 in the stock/default launcher, but you can still use an alternative launcher if you like. many of those do not have the bar or let you toggle it off.

> I know custom launchers exist, but I'd really rather not go that route.

If you switched to a different phone, it is using a different launcher. If your only complaint is the launcher, it doesn't make sense to change the whole phone.

I was gonna say it's definitely not there on mine but I just checked and it is.

Amazing how good my mental adblocker is for things I've been looking at every day for 2 years.

Nova launcher is fantastic.