In a similar boat with C++, but even the complexity of fundamental "simple C++" issues and lack of syntax sugar made me gravitate away from C++ to better-C style languages ultimately landing on Zig.
Using another language has only made me feel C++'s shortcomings more strongly than before.
Stroustrup even gave a talk about what a new C++ next language would look like and lands on many things better C languages already have implemented.
Sadly it's doubtful for gamedev to move away from C++ anytime soon. I am enjoying Vulkan+SDL in Zig on a personal project and can only hope that space of the language's community continues to grow.
Starting this year I'm switching from gameplay programmer to game engine programmer. I originally studied computer graphics a lot while I was in school, and I really enjoyed the time I spent working on optimization as a gameplay programmer.
As a gameplay programmer, a lot of the problem solving and work I did was insular and particular to the game. Engine development feels like a much bigger world where very similar problems are being worked on by many people all over the world. I feel there's a lot more material I need to go read.
I also want to start learning how to song write and improvise on piano. I'm starting to get some grasp on music theory finally and can probably not be totally lost when placing chords next to each other.
I try to stress this more than anything when talking about the merits of vim/emacs/etc. It's not about speed, it's about how effortless and 2nd nature editing text becomes.
Which is really counterintuitive when you look at how complicated the programs are. But I felt that it became better/easier than regular text editing after only 3 weeks of fulltime use. The uninterrupted flow of keyboard use, and reduced mouse navigation, feels great.
You only need to learn a very small subset of features to be very effective with it. Some people just stick to that forever. But you can also slowly add to it.
The quickest path is to just start writing real time simulations of stuff and reference how other similar simulations went about implementation; terrains and erosion, cloth, fluid, etc.
It's easier if you have a bunch of random linear algebra and calculus knowledge lying around in your head, but trying to study that stuff isn't the most direct route.
Using another language has only made me feel C++'s shortcomings more strongly than before.
Stroustrup even gave a talk about what a new C++ next language would look like and lands on many things better C languages already have implemented.
Sadly it's doubtful for gamedev to move away from C++ anytime soon. I am enjoying Vulkan+SDL in Zig on a personal project and can only hope that space of the language's community continues to grow.