Energy in physics feels analogous to money in economics. Is a manmade medium of exchange used for convenience. It is the exchange medium between measureable physical states/things.
Is energy is real in the same way money is? An incredibly useful accounting trick that is used so frequently it feels fundamental, but really it’s just a mathmatical convenience?
Small aside: From this perspective ‘conservatipn of energy’ is a redundant statement. Of course energy must be conserved or else the equations are wrong. The definition of energy is it’s conservation.
Yup, we are in agreement, though I might have missphrased my comments to imply that one shouldn’t believe in energy
To that end, there is a quote from Dumbledore on one of the Harry Potter films (don’t know which one) where he says: “of course this is in your head Harry, but does it make this less real?”