I think it is very useful to think in terms of the working distance, which affects the perspective. Particularly crucial when photographing people.
A zoom gives one the liberty of first choosing suitable working distance, then adjusting the field of view by zooming, to select how much of the surroundings are included in the photo.
A prime doesn’t let you do these independently. One has to make certain compromises about the cropping and working distance. That’s not necessarily a bad thing and can lead to some creative decisions and a distinct style, but can also necessitate some cropping in post.
From what I’ve seen, the most common misconception about focal lengths is that the focal length itself somehow causes perspective distortions. As long as we’re talking about reasonably rectilinear lenses (with distortions corrected), it does not. It is the working distance that matters.