What's going on with matchmaking in pubs?

I came back to Apex after a pretty long break and honestly, what the hell happened to matchmaking?

I'm playing unranked only, and I'm getting absolutely destroyed almost every game. Doesn't matter if I queue solo or with my friend on PS5, the experience is pretty much the same.

The thing that makes absolutely no sense to me is the team skill graph shown before each match. My team keeps appearing all the way on the far right of the graph, suggesting we're among the highest-skilled teams in the lobby.

But my actual performance doesn't reflect that at all. I lose most of my fights, struggle to survive, and getting a top 2 feels like a miracle. I'm not exaggerating when I say it feels like I only manage a decent placement once every 50 games.

I even tried queuing solo to see if playing with my friend was affecting the matchmaking, but it didn't seem to make any difference.

I've been away from Apex for a long time, so obviously I'm not playing at the same level I used to. Yet the matchmaking doesn't seem to account for that, or at least it doesn't feel like it's adjusting despite how badly I'm performing.

I know the graph represents team skill rather than individual skill, but when I'm consistently placed on the far right while getting destroyed match after match, something feels seriously wrong.

I'm not asking for easy lobbies or to stomp new players. I just want matches where I actually have a chance to compete.

At this point, I'm genuinely considering making a new account just to see if the matchmaking experience is any different.

Is anyone else experiencing this? Especially returning players? Because right now, pubs feel more like ranked than an actual casual mode.