warranty issues due to the pandemic

Hello, good afternoon I crack my apple watch and contacted apple for a repair in which they set an appointment for me at my nearest best buy when I got there they stated my warranty was expired in 2020 and they would not be able to fix it. My warranty stop during the pandemic in which stores were closed and I was highly stressed out about the many people that were dying around me that I did not reach out to sooner. When the employee stated that I would have to pay 300.00 to get the crack screen fix I was highly disappointed due to the fact that all my products came from apple my phone, laptop, iPad and I've never had to deal with this kind at all its always been great with this company so to hear that I have to pay close to the starting price for a highly functioning 5 series watch is dishearting. Is there any way we can fix this issue at hand? I've been a loyal customer for years can you please help