I can't say I've found this to be that strong of a thing. Even big companies don't seem to mind my gap.

I'm frankly confused as to why a resume gap would be relevant to anyone. If anything, my resume gap cleared up my head and I've dabbled in some things I don't usually touch so it made me a better employee, if we want to use that language.

This just seems like a cultural holdover and one we could eliminate with more people taking breaks.