Hmm, you want to be "redpilled?" Okay..

What if I told you that you're assuming that every mission that departs from the Moon must necessarily return to the surface of the Earth? What if I told you that you're assuming that there are no missions aside from surface to surface travel? And that as soon as that's not the case anymore, permanent infrastructure starts to make more sense?

The Δv assumptions you have been making have made you a slave. The reality is that the Δv difference is really not that much.

What if you woke up one day and realized you had been assuming that when people talk about supplying a fuel depot they mean entirely from Earth? When actually mining and refining on the Moon itself, coupled with magnetic delivery to cislunar space, would be massively more efficient -- especially if you didn't carry any Earth re-entry capability around with you?

The choice is yours. Take the blue pill, and remain a lunar transit infrastructure skeptic.

Take the red pill.... and find out how far into the cosmos we can go.