Conflicted about salawat

Peace be upon you my fellow believers!
I wanted to talk about a dilemma I have that I can't explain and want to hear opinions from the community I align with the most.
I haven't been able to find a lot of discussions in this sub that adress salawat on the prophet.

And this conflicts me because in sunni circles this is so incredibly emphasized it almost freaked me out at times. And seemed borderline shirk to me that people made so much of their ibadah about sending blessings to the prophet(pbuh), rather than just glorifying God.
And Although the Quran mentions and participates in sending blessings to his messengers, I never understood it in a sense of God being pleased with me just by wishing rewards and peace upon men who are already dear to him, who he made pious and will get rewarded weather or not I send salutations their way.
I sort of had the position that this was more so for the people who were around rasulAllah during his lifetime.

Wallahi I can't explain how or why....
But when I incorporate salawat on the prophet into my everyday worship I truly feel spiritual benefit.
How can sending blessings upon a man I never met but nevertheless admire bring ease on my life and my heart?
I really cannot explain it, because islam to me is very much not about the prophet and purely about God.
I always thought the prophets are honorable people who were blessed with the mission of being those closest to Allah (SWT) and spreading his word. But no more than that. And in my rational mind, Muhammad's role and benefit on my life doesn't go beyond bringing the world the Quran.
Yet my heart feels blessings and ease when I ask Allah to bless our last prophet

What are your thoughts? What has been your experience with this practice?