I certainly don't think it will be easier in a few years, but I also think that after 19 years of using gmail, a few more years aren't going to make a huge difference. It's really kind of sad to think about how far Google has fallen. I started with gmail in 2005. At the time, Google was starting to become the "go-to" search engine. They had better results than Yahoo or AltaVista; the "do no evil" slogan was also a great "feel-good" factor. I don't think anyone at the time expected how different things would be in 2024.
I can host my own media on my own server. I use Nextcloud Talk for IMs (also hosted on my own server). Just about any online service can be self-hosted, except for email. I have certainly tried in the past, even hosting email on a VPS. You run into so many issues, though. Your server isn't trusted, websites don't recognize your domain, a whole litany of problems. Email is just one of those things that you really can't self-host.
Sure, I could switch to a new email provider, forward gmail, and slowly over time update my email address for everyone who's sending to my gmail account. What happens then when my new email provider decides to start harvesting my data for profit? Email is one of those things where you can't live without it, but you're forced to use a service that isn't your own and could fuck you at any time.