Like you said, in my own experience too, imagination doesn’t flow the same way anymore, it takes real effort to let the mind wander freely again
I think it is happening for many. I have said for years, the more we consume, the less creative we become. Our imagination dies when we are continually fed content that gives us no space to think.
I remember once writing a short story based on a difficult time in my life, and though it was all “made up,” it helped me process emotions I hadn’t faced directly.
The best stories are the ones that process real life, through different perspectives of what could have been, or a landscape that couldn't be.