There's a hundred different ways to disincentivize commutes – without subsidies either: simple tax incentives.

I'm still unclear on how that could be accomplished. Its pretty obvious that most companies larger than startups are unwilling to fully embrace remote work and need to make themselves feel good about the money they invest into their leases/real estate and so force their employees into at least 2/3 days in office.

Are you proposing that the government just give money to businesses so long as they keep their workers at home? This would have a pretty big impact on peripheral businesses near office parks (coffee shops, restaurants, etc). SF is the perfect example - the city's tax revenue is down big time from pre-COVID and continuing to worsen, primarily because of the work-from-home trend.

BTW - I'm NOT advocating for return to office, at least not for software engineers.

Not just businesses but individuals too. And tax incentives ≠ giving money away.