Interesting, I started out in similar times but never had a physical portfolio, only online. Got a lot of gigs through Dribbble back then.

Not sure if it was simpler though 🤔 I think it had different challenges. I think design was less valued back then (yeah even compared to 2023-24, believe it or not) and it was nearly impossible to do really good design work for a UX-mature company that would truly get it. At least that's my experience from those times.