It's not "broken." Apple has been increasingly hostile to "traditional" file servers (dropping AFP support - AFP is still superior to SMB both performance and compatibility-wise) and non-iCloud file sync services. They also disabled third party cloud syncing to folders on external drives fairly recently. I'm blanking but there were other changes in Ventura related to third party cloud sync, too.

There's a reason your iPhone/iPad defaults, every fucking time you try to save a file, to iCloud storage and the "default storage location" option was removed from preferences.

Apple is taking the "frog in the pot of boiling water" approach, slowly pushing everyone toward iCloud file storage, despite it being a dogshit service with numerous problems because the dev team are more interested in coordinating their nail color to their McLaren (I wish I was joking.)