I have just discovered this software and have absolutely no background in programming or electronics. I am not even knowledgeable in computers. I have been running a version of Linux since about 1998. I am currently running Linux Mint 20.3 on an old Dell Optiplex 9020 with an I7 and 32GB of RAM.
I installed Arduino using apt and followed instructions here to add ESP32 support:
The board should show up as /dev/ttyUSB0 or /dev/ttyACM0 assuming you have exactly one board plugged in. If the board does not show up, the most common reason is the USB cable does not have data wires it. Most free USB cables do not have data wires so can only be used for charging. The only exceptions are cables included with phones and tablets. Keep trying different USB cables until you find one that works.
I don't say that it's the cause of your problem but you have installed an antique version of the IDE.
I suggest that you uninstall it and download a newer version from https://www.arduino.cc/en/software. You don't sound like the experimental type of person when it comes to PC usage so I suggest that you install version 1.8.19 (it's under legacy software).