One of the biggest misunderstandings for beginners: A “wallet” does not actually hold your Bitcoin. Your Bitcoin lives on the blockchain. What your wallet holds are the private keys. Those keys are what let you control and move your Bitcoin. And a hardware wallet? It is not really a storage device. It is a signing device. Once you understand that, self-custody makes a lot more sense. You are not storing coins on a device. You are securing the keys that prove they are yours.