The buying agent’s 3% cut is paid by the seller; if there’s no selling agent, do the buyer’s agent still get their cut? I’m not really clear on why it’s struct

The buying agent’s 3% cut is paid by the seller; if there’s no selling agent, do the buyer’s agent still get their cut? I’m not really clear on why it’s structured that way in the first place — why doesn’t the buyer pay his own agent directly?