How to fix Sims 4 game

@XavierW25 and @BeccaMcFetti  If the game worked with a clean folder in place, the next step is testing your mods and custom content.  You can do so a few at a time, or if you have a lot of files to sort through, use the 50/50 method:

https://modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Finding_Problem_Custom_Content#The_50.25_Method

Once you've sorted through the mods and cc, you can add the contents of the saves and Tray folders to the new Sims 4 folder, plus Screenshots if those matter to you, and pick up where you left off.  Saves and Tray files are unlikely to prevent the game from running at all, so they're probably not the issue here.

@XavierW25  I think Proton VPN is just a VPN without any additional antivirus features.  But I could be wrong about that; I haven't really looked into it.  If it does include an antivirus, and you find you can't add any mods or cc to the game at all, even newly-downloaded files, try setting exceptions for TS4_x64.exe and EADesktop.exe.