Steering rack replacement needed?

What is your question?

Yesterday, I came out of a restaurant after having lunch, started my car and heard a reciprocating noise from the front end that got worse if the wheel was turned in either direction, like a bearing going bad. I don't know if it was making the noise prior to stopping for lunch. I immediately drove to my repair shop, the steering degenerating until it was very hard to turn the wheel as I pulled into their lot. They called today to say that my rack & pinion assembly needs replacing. I trust this shop but I'm wondering if the repair could be simpler than this.