I would agree that, yes, many of the things you raised are things we'd look at regardless, but in any "5 Why's"-type investigation, you have to get to the root

I would agree that, yes, many of the things you raised are things we'd look at regardless, but in any "5 Why's"-type investigation, you have to get to the root cause. Whether this came from a lab will probably have a huge influence on the future of Gain of Function research, both how it is conducted and whether we as a global society think it is a good idea. If on the other hand COVID was a natural occurring disease, but we have been unable to figure out the path from its origin in animals to eventually infecting humans, then we will probably need better techniques for tracking such transmissions. I think everyone knows that bats carry diseases, but most of what I read has indicated that in the natural scenario there was probably an intermediary animal, and knowing what animal that is surely would change how we approach that animal and its habitat in the wild.