It really is one of those "you gotta try it" things.
Once you get over the small learning curve, it gets to be VERY productive. Think of it as writing CSS at a slightly higher level of abstraction. That abstraction being in not having to edit two separate files or areas of your HTML document (unless you want to abstract further with @apply).
Not having to go through the 'define identifier in element, then define in StyleSheet' workflow. With Tailwind you get the most commonly used style definitions pre-defined. But not so high level that it LOOKS pre-defined. Giving you room to customize greatly. How could it not be faster?
I recently completed a theme in Tailwind, mostly to get the hang of it: https://planflow.dev/free-themes/. And managed to go from idea to finished theme in about 4-5 days. That's the fastest I've ever done it.
Yes, I know. We live in the real world. My issue isn't people making judgements, etc. It's that I choose not to willingly expose myself to (and support) a system that enables those judgements to negatively affect me. Instead, I choose to spend my money with a system (a hotel) which does not allow the prejudices of individuals to get in my way.
Airbnb has chosen it's system (and refuses to address the flaws inherent in that system), so I've chosen not to use it.