To each their own, but I'd point out that a huge reason people go to gyms/studios to work out is for the social and structured aspect of it, and there is a ton of evidence that working out with others or gym partners leads to much more consistent progress, statistically speaking. That is a big reason all of the recent Peloton and Peloton-esque programs fundamentally include a group social aspect.

I've always had the ability to work out from home, and during the pandemic I've pretty much had to, but I greatly prefer going to the gym. I'm really not social at all, but I just feel like I can get much more "in the zone" at a gym than my house.

The reason to go to the gym is because my kids are not there.

I love my daughter, and did just as much when she was a youngster, but I think many dedicated spaces are a benefit because they allow for greater focus, because the kids (or spouse or parent or...) are not there. I have seen no data on it, but I have the impression that experienced workers with no dependents do better in a WFH environment, than either new hires or people with family at home.

As a 41 y/o guy without kids I very much agree. I have my bad days when I can't focus well even if I am surrounded by complete silence but I am very grateful for no persistent distractions like kids when I can.

Plus many acquaintances of mine reported that they had to resort to making a small room in their apartment a dedicated home office which they had to lock in order to prevent distractions from their kids.

Different strokes and all but I will never return to an office to work there while at the same time me and my wife have been a complete and embarrassing failure doing a workout routine at home so we just accepted our flaws and started going to the gym regularly.

For some people like the two us, having a dedicated recreational space is motivating you to do the recreational activity. Trying to do it at home invokes thoughts like "What's the point? I'll inhale so much dust and smog, what's the healthy aspect of that?".

So for us it boiled down to a psychological lock which seems mostly bound to proper air and temperature conditioning at the gym.

Depends what you're going to the gym for. If it's just to lift weights, sure, reasonable safety precautions and you're good to go at home. If you're into martial arts, gyms are a hard requirement.

If you have the luxury of space to load up a rack and some dumbbells - but it doesn't sound realistic for most people. Plus gyms are everywhere these days - it's easy to slide them into work commute so you don't have the time overhead of going there/back.