Are we forgetting that Nadal was down two sets and facing multiple break points at 2-3 in the third set of this year's final? He was on the verge of receiving a beatdown comparable to the AO19 final against a significantly worse opponent. A guy who isn't a renowned choker playing at a respectable level for a slam finalist (let alone a guy playing at Djokovic's AO19 level) wouldn't have given Nadal a sniff from that position in the match and so Nadal would have never been able to demonstrate his famed fighting qualities in the first place in such a scenario.
It's also easy to keep fighting when you're facing a guy who has previously choked against you in the worst possible fashion on his best surface vs your worst surface (2019 ATP finals), who himself admitted that he was on the verge of cramping and total physical collapse in a slam final in which he was on the verge of winning in straight sets against a shot opponent (2022 USO), and who you have an almost perfect head to head record against. Pre-final 2019 also was better and it's not even remotely close. So yes, 2019 AO Nadal was certainly better than 2022 AO Nadal and its not actually particularly close.