Asymmetrical sticks are actually more ergonomic. Having the joysticks higher up on the controller is a more natural resting position for your thumbs.
It works with the right stick being lower because most games have you frequently pressing the face buttons up top. It would cramp your thumb if they were lower. This is why the switch as asymmetrical joycons and why the steam deck has the buttons to the side of the thumbstick and not below it. On the left side however, the DPad generally gets used a lot less than the thumbstick, so it makes sense to place it lower
When the DualShock first came out, the DPad was still used pretty heavily which is why it made sense to have the sticks lower. As games evolved and dual analog controls pretty much became the standard, the asymmetrical analogs sticks became more popular and the ideal. That design is synonymous with PlayStation tho so I can’t blame for them not changing it
Obviously it’s not like the DualShock style analog sticks are going to destroy your hand, but if you were to design a controller from scratch, asymmetric sticks would be the way to go ergonomically. This is why most 3rd party controllers have the same design even for PlayStation