To put it simply you have to use it to know it. Give it a couple of weeks. I have been programming for solid 14 years of my life now. Even before VS Code came out. I can't work with editors that don't have a minimap anymore.
> Because that's the only mechanism that will take you to exactly where you want in the syntax tree hierarchy within the same file
That's not true. The quickest way is to Cmd + R. It opens the Command Palette with the list of all symbols. You can either fuzzy search or navigate to the symbol.
You also have it in the Sidebar. Check the Outline tab you'll get the entire list of symbols used within the file. I don't use the Sidebar Outline anyways because I have the Command Palette for it to jump to symbol. I find using Command Palette for most editor based operations much faster. That includes file navigation, going to a symbol (which you call syntax tree hierarchy) and other stuff (like running builds, running tests etc).
> Why do you need to know where? Just jump to the first one from the keyboard
Because I have a rough idea of what parts of my code is where. When I encounter an error, I simply know it is in that particular region of the mini-map and just click that region. It is so much faster than any keybinding that you can think of.
Also, if the error is in multiple places but I know the source for the error is not at the top of the file but at the bottom of the file, I can go straight to that region. Not all errors have to start from the first error that is encountered.
This is not something that can be explained. This is acquired experience that you get only after you give the feature a shot for sometime.
> besides telling you you broke half of your code in a file?
If that is your consistent experience then you have far bigger problems than the editor. I would look at why your code is so tightly coupled that it leads to half the file showing you red lines. That is not normal. At least in my experience I haven't had to deal with squiggly lines that span half the file. At most 2-3 lines. Unless I am refactoring code (which is not considered fixing in technical sense).
> Your compiler or linter or precommit script won't let you proceed without having them fixed anyway
I have a linter running in realtime in VS Code which auto-formats my file and points to any problems in realtime. The linter precommit script is only for extra layer of security and for those devs who have their own custom configurations which don't allow for realtime linter. I hope you realize that every developer has his/her own unique setup to make life easier for themselves.