There's no getting around the fact that the majority of Android phones are very large. The Google Pixel series is not exempt from this trend. Thankfully, they have a handy gesture to make opening the notifications easier.
To pull down the notification shade on Android you have to reach all the way to the very top of the screen. As part of the "One-Handed Mode" suite of features, Pixel phones have the ability to actually swipe down on the bottom of the display to open the notifications.
First, swipe down twice from the top of the screen to reveal the Quick Settings menu and tap the gear icon.
Next, scroll down and select "System."
Now, select "Gestures."
Lastly, go to "One-Handed Mode."
Toggle the switch at the top to turn on One-Handed Mode.
Now you have two options for the One-Handed Mode gesture. It can shrink the screen or show the notifications. The latter is what we want to do.
That's all there is to it. Simply swipe down on the bottom edge of the screen to expand the notifications panel. If you prefer to make the entire screen more easily reachable, choose the "Pull Screen Into Reach" option.