I understand people's recent frustration with Cole. I take comfort in the larger sample size.
Since joining the Yankees in 2020, Cole is 8th in WAR, 11th in ERA, 9th in FIP, and 2nd in xFIP. We might all define "ace" differently, but he has clearly been one of the top 10-15 starting pitchers in baseball during that period. I suspect he will trend towards these numbers as the season goes on.
Also, there is an unfounded narrative that Cole is not a big game pitcher. I suspect that's largely because of his bad performance in last year's wild card game. Despite that, Cole has a 2.93 ERA in 86 postseason innings, which includes three starts with the Yankees in 2020. Again, he might not fit everyone's definition of an "ace," but he is pretty damn good.