It depends on what you mean by being "centrist". In America the Democratic party IS the centrist party. If it wasn't for the small contingent of progressives in the Democratic party, they would actually just be a normal conservative party, but the party as a whole is still right of center, if not smack dab in the middle of it.
On the other hand, the Republican party has fully embraced the extreme far right tenants of fascism and are merely arguing over who gets to be it's leader. There is nothing "centrist" about them or their policies
Typically in my experience, most people who say they are centrists aren't moderates trying to find a balance, they are just conservatives who don't want to feel guilty about voting for the fascist party.
It's insane to think the loss of remote work is inevitable. My current job is in the beginnings of turning us hybrid and it's causing talent loss. Our jobs are functionally the same even when sitting in a cubicle because everything we do is still done "remotely". We still have to login to the VPN, access remote desktops, use browser based systems, communicate via email, etc. Even meetings with upper management are done through teams, because it's just EASIER to do.
The only thing we gain from going in is the occasional donut.