Gt was not successful because of network effects, but more monkey see monkey do imitation that people are prone to. Whatever is used for big projects must be the best, right?

I have recently returned to Fossil for personal stuff. IMO its better than git for one person projects and small teams. It was designed for a small team. What everyone else uses does not really matter for personal stuff. Nor does it matter if you are working with people willing to try something new. Nor does it matter to someone who can take a decision for a team.

It is also very easy to self host.