Yeah besides contactless being an option as the other poster said (I use this too sometimes, especially on my phone), at work I use a cheap USB hub for this. When a port dies or becomes unreliable, I tape it off and use the next one. It can be really cheap as USB 2.0 is more than fast enough for a yubikey.
I'm at 2 out of 4 ports dead now after 1,5 years on a $10 hub so it's not bad :) In addition, it's an iMac and the ports at the back are a nightmare to use. I taped the hub to the 'foot' of the iMac so it's much easier to use.
I’ve been using yubikeys for at least the last 2-3 years for all ssh/gpg operations and I have my key on my actual keychain so there’s extra weight on it and sometimes the key sits at a bit of an angle. Still, I have yet to break a single USB port on my ThinkPad. I’m a bit worried about USB-C though.
I had the same concerns. Luckily, Yubikey also sells keys with NFC support. I now have a cheap NFC reader on my desk, and everything is now contactless.
I'm genuinely curious, are broken USB ports a common thing? I've been using a Yubikey with my MBP, and many years ago used thumb drives all the time with my computers. I've never had a port or device break in any way (either a failure due to wear, or a literal break). Admittedly, I use USB ports much less frequently these days (as in, I plug things in and leave them in for weeks or months at a time, I don't swap USB devices like I used to).
As long as removing the key starts your screen locker and inserting kills it you'll fallback to typing your password. Though that could be hard if all you usb ports have suddenly all died at the same time.
