I mean, one of the definitions for confusing is:

Difficult to understand; not clear as lacking order, chaotic etc

You’re thinking of “confusing” as in confounding, or so nuanced and perplexing as to be out of reach of some people. Sentences are only difficult to parse in two ways: layered and perplexing (one kind of confusing), or broken/nearing nonsensical (the other kind of confusing). Confusing doesn’t have to mean the level of language is so high that it confuses simpler minds. It can be confusing by being so out of the ordinary and muddled that it takes some mental rearrangement to parse. My argument is this sentence falls into the latter. Still confusing. And could be a perfect example sentence for the dictionary definition I copy/pasted above.