Only self-proclaimed Arduino forum "experts" write INITIAL cods using arrays, loops etc.
Most mortals, me included, do the initial version the way you did it.
What data did you use to come to that assertion? are you trying to feel good because you need to write crappy code first before trying to rewrite everything?
Really it’s not an expert thing, that is one of the fundamental building block of programming and everyone uses that when possible, directly - not as a second thought...
of course that means “thinking a bit before writing a bit of code”... and that is a best practice for programming as much as it is in life (think a bit before acting)