In Vim’s predecessor, vi, switching modes was easy, with the ESC key located neatly by the Q on the keyboard of the ADM-3A terminal. On modern keyboards, though, it’s a pain ...
A simple trick in vim to alleviate the pain of reaching for the ESC key is using alt + l.
However, this may or may not work depending on the install. I don't remember what exactly this keybind is for but on some systems I've seen it insert a special character. I've found it typically works with vim-enhanced and neovim.
I have switched ESC and Caps Lock for years now. It really makes things so much easier, but now I am the guy in that meme. At least partly: I struggle to find the ESC key on other people's computers, but sadly I'm not 23 anymore.
I think the thing that saves me from doing stuff like this is that as I get older I've begun to hate extraneous cables on and around my desk. For the longest time I've stuck with cabled peripherals, but I think my next buy will be wireless in that department. Now if we could make this foot pedal wireless...
I went the opposite way, got sick of all the wireless stuff disconnecting, battery dying, or not working before the os boots so I switched to wired everything, I went as far as running a usb over ethernet extender to my couch area so I can have a wire keeb and mouse while gaming on the tv