I've certainly had work trips like this, and if bringing more devices helps you through it more power to you! This whole thread is kind of fascinating to see how people cope with having their normal day-to-day upended by travel.

For me, even in the boring towns, I've had good luck finding at least restaurants and breweries to explore. Sometimes I do end up falling back to reading books or playing old games on an emulator on my phone. For me, I'm willing to take the compromises of the phone-based entertainment for traveling lighter.