It's not just a successful (sub-)orbital test. SpaceX needs to demonstrate re-use. That is essential. The Angry Astronaut had a video about this where he arg

It's not just a successful (sub-)orbital test. SpaceX needs to demonstrate re-use. That is essential. The Angry Astronaut had a video about this where he argues that SpaceX should continue testing Starship to demonstrate reusability. But they can't now that they are committed to not using landing legs: first they need to test the chopsticks with a hopper and a load simulator, then they need to test the chopsticks with a booster and a Starship, and only then can they attempt a landing and re-use.