As someone who left the US by car on a whim once: you were totally free to leave before covid.
Kinda sorta. Yes, you a free to run off to anywhere in the world. Your passport protects you even in hostile countries. However, you are expected to return home and pay taxes. To leave the United States is an expensive affair if you want to truly leave by giving up your citizenship. To work abroad is expensive too if the foreign country has a lower tax rate. As a US citizen you are free to roam, but never to change your home.