My X1 Carbon 3rd gen got quite some use in the last 5 years, some of it also in ~ 0 °C weather (for at least half an hour), worked fine.

That is naturally just one personal experience, so I do not want to assert that all X1s or even ThinkPads fare better in colder weather. Just that at least some do.

There may be a difference if you’re actively working in cold weather, where the CPU is generating heat that keep the internal battery temperatures up.

My hands have historically never been happy doing fine motor work at those temperatures.

Even though I’ve acclimated to doing outdoor work in colder and wetter conditions, I’m having trouble believing people are actually working on their laptop while most of us would be wearing gloves.

That sounds close enough that it would probably work just fine. I used my laptops on my terrace in winter, but as i never had any of them 'overcool' i never took note of the temperatire.