No, there was massive mail and collection campaign by Democrats, combined with an at home easy to collect from populace who was pissed off.
Team trump played the game this year, ran ads about early voting, etc..
They aren’t mutually exclusive. Trump campaign may have been caught flat footed in 2020, but that Dem ground game campaign you call impressive had more than enough illegal/fraudulent ballots to make the difference in key swing states.
I respectfully disagree that 2020 was a secure election, but you are free to think what you like.