I heard they did it all figuratively. 
Like all things it probably depends on the HS. There are plenty of ways for them to submit these things digitally and many do. Are there some high schools somewhere in the country to don’t use any of those tools? Maybe?
But the method of delivery does not change the fact that is it still a human process and yes sometimes counselors/schools and teachers fail to submit recs or transcripts to some students. Usually students have one or multiple ways to track this and follow-up/nudge. Most of the colleges have application portals which indicate if something is missing. You can see some of it on the Common App. And if the school uses a service like Scour or Naviance it often has tracking info too. My S23 had to follow-up with a teacher who was late with his rec and with the school that was late with transcripts. Happens, despite all of that being digital.