But the OP is saying the “sluggish acceleration” is happening when the ESC is OFF, which doesn’t make sense.
Is it possible that OP is confused about which light is coming on? In the cars I’ve seen, there’s an “ESC Off” light to tell you when you’ve switched the ESC off, but there’s also a “ESC activated” light that goes on when the system senses imminent loss of control and the ESC system actively kicks in. If it’s the “ESC activated” light that’s turning on, that might explain the loss of acceleration.