There are so many ways to convert a colour image to B &W these days. At the turn of this century maybe before some of the current batch of software was developed, I remember using channels. A good range of options were provided through that process. Nowadays, depending on your ‘upbringing’ in the B & W genre, that may still be your choice.

My preference is to begin with a flat file, meaning less contrast, less saturation with brightness levels also reduced so that the file isn’t close to clipping in the highlights. Then Silver Efex provides plenty of options: I use a variation of 6-8 of those of which I typically use 3-4 depending on the nature of the image - if it has clouds or snow etc. My most used are probably More Silver and Full Dynamic (smooth). Neither are too dramatic with the More Silver leaning a bit stronger towards the darker tones. These can be moderated if required by using the yellow filter option. Finally, if it’s still too dark, going to Shadow/Highlight adjustment in PS can slightly raise the darks further if required.