I always found this advice annoying (and I actually do see it in many vim introductions) and didn't find it particularly bad to reach for escape, but I have mos

I always found this advice annoying (and I actually do see it in many vim introductions) and didn't find it particularly bad to reach for escape, but I have mostly used 60% keyboards for many years now, so esc is one row lower than normal (where the ~ key is on a fullsize). Asking people to remap keys feels pretty major, but also there are many things people tell you to replace capslock with. I personally think making it a compose key is a better choice.