Just for fun I went over to the AT&T store. Couldnt get anything cheap or basic to hold me over for a little while.
I did notice that only apple has small phones nowadays. thought that was weird.
That's the market reality, unfortunately. There's a cycle where people cry out for good small phones, one or two companies release good small phones... and it turns out there's only limited demand for those devices, so those companies back out. Even Apple is rumored to be dropping the mini when the iPhone 14 series arrives in the fall.
If you want something basic to hold you over, look at a Pixel 5a. Not the cheapest, but it'll do the trick. Maybe the next iPhone SE if you can hold out until March.