You need a bike friendly road network. Where I am at in suburban Illinois, I have a 45 - 55 mph lane with no shoulder and no continuous sidewalk. There is no way I'm risking life and limb to commute on that with my bike.
On the other hand there are multiple trails which I can and will use now that spring/summer is here.
I think the reluctance to use bikes for basic transport is more to do with lack of space on the road rather than theft.
Theft plays a major role when you're thinking of buying an e-bike... When you're shelling 2+kEUR and you must put the fscking lock eeeeverytime you go somewhere, pause to buy bread, or whatever, and it's the same one or 2 minutes circus (first lock, then second lock, then don't forget the computer...). It gets tiring and discouraging.
On the other hand there are multiple trails which I can and will use now that spring/summer is here.
I think the reluctance to use bikes for basic transport is more to do with lack of space on the road rather than theft.