Only speaking for myself here, but I thought 2021 was much better than 2020. With that said, it is better in the sense of "This shit sandwich tasted a little better than this shit sandwich".
2020 was really bad for sure, pandemic started, riots/protests, fires in western US.
2021 imo was worse due to pandemic being worse than 2020(delta), and now you have shelves bare, ships backed up off the coast of California. Inflation going very high, housing skyrocketing.
2022 was omicron wave(worse than delta) inflation getting worse than 2021, now war with Russia and gas spiking(prices at pump at levels never seen before)