Possibly dumb question about Bosch bike with very small chainring

Okay, having not actually ridden a Bosch mid drive bike this might be a dumb question. I was looking at Trek and other bikes that have a very small front chainring. Some are rated to 28mph, so clearly it's not an issue under power. My question is in the case of a dead battery.

Is the bike severely handicapped if the battery dies? Even riding in a very hilly area I find anything less than a 36t chainring almost unusable in a 1X drivetrain, as you immediately spin out on the slightest downhill.

I'm currently rebuilding my only 1X bike to have a 38t ring to hopefully make it a little better than the 36t.