Without file picker you can access only 3 folders:
getTemporaryFolder() getDataFolder() getPluginFolder()
With the new FileSystem API it’s possible to read/write without file picker: https://developer.adobe.com/photoshop/uxp/2022/uxp/reference-js/Modules/FileSystem/
It requires manifest version 5 and PS 24.0.0.
In the manifest also declare:
"requiredPermissions": {
"localFileSystem": "fullAccess"
}