I use LibreTube and it looks like half of the instances keep getting shut down and then get back up, and the speeds for all are atrociously slow that it is just better to watch it on YouTube on Firefox. I heard a while ago YouTube was blocking certain Piped instances but do not know if that is the same case right now.
I bet for the owners of public instances, it must be a constant fight against YouTube’s IP banning or rate limiting.
If you have the resources, you could self-host your own private instance for you and your friends or family. I haven’t had performance issue with my private instance so far.
I wish I had the resources and technical knowledge to do so. I’m a broke college student
Self hosting is very easy if you’re just using it on your local network.