I normally don’t have to do this, so I’m guessing this was a result of having a 1-way ticket. I flew a different airline each way, so I had two 1-way tickets instead of a round-trip.
As I had no luggage to check, it was annoying to be asked to get to the airport that much earlier for an in-person check-in. But it was just that: a minor annoyance.
At least, it felt that way until I got to the airport and saw the lengthy queue of people with massive suitcases to check in. A queue I now had to join…all so I could get a boarding pass.