The counter-argument to your point is that now is the best time, as voters have the leverage to elect democrats or not. In theory, Dem leadership wants to be elected and requires votes to achieve that goal. Biden met with progressive activists shortly after taking office and promptly told them to fuck off as, since he was already president, they no longer had anything to offer him.
That said, I hear your point and am torn about how I will ultimately vote. I don’t live in one of the nine (arguably three) magic states where my vote will actually count, though, so it’s a bit of a moot point.