Yes but how many times did Picard confide in Data? He mostly confided in Troi, Beverly and Riker. So it was bizarre to me for him in the Picard finale to be like "I've never gotten over your loss my dearest friend"

A stronger way to hang that plot point would've been for Picard to be like "As your captain I've helped shepherd you on your journey to be more human, there's not a more human experience than death I'll be here for you." But they retconned a closeness these two characters never mutually shared on screen before