No problem for me running it direct from ZOS on PC. How are you running it?
You can launch the game direct from the .exe file on PC other than when there's a patch to download, but you really haven't given any information to go on.
I have actually noticed this as well. It's not really a problem for me, as I have unlimited time, and it's still not "long" (as in, it's still maybe only 20 seconds) but it does seem somewhat slower.
I play via Steam on PC. There was a patch/ update released around the end of June 2024/ beginning of July 2024 that messed up both my Steam launcher and the game launcher. EVERY single time I l click to play ESO the game launcher is no longer centered on my screen but instead is migrated to the upper left of the screen. And every third or fourth time I exit the game my Steam launcher is moved to the lower right corner of my screen and the game launcher is partially off my screen, also in the lower right corner, Prior to the aforementioned patch/ update both launchers were always perfectly centered on my screen. There has been literally nothing I can do to make this annoyance stop. I can only re-center both launchers, rinse and repeat.
This has never happened and does not happen with any of my other games. I'm not sure if this is what you're experiencing?