If these symptoms were not attributable to covid, we would expect that the symptoms would be present at the same rate in patients who have never had covid, no?

I'm also not sure what the explanation would be for why the symptoms improve over time, if those were the causes.

I didnt do anything during lockdown, that is, I carried on mostly as normal. I co-founded a community that was about socialisation for kids and being outdoors. None of us have long covid. None of us had anything worse than a flu. I also have friends that I didn't see closer than 10 metres during lockdown, they stayed indoors and watched Netflix, ordered food online, and behave themselves. 8 of them have "long covid". I understand anecdote isn't evidence, but when this whole thing became political I decided I can only make decisions based on experience and not what my better insist upon me.

Many adult endurance athletes get it, so I doubt it.

Given the severity of long Covid in many cases, I doubt that’s a more than a negligible factor.

Or a virus known to persist in our tissues for years.

Here’s yet another study suggesting persistent symptoms in kids.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle...

More than willing to provide a list of studies demonstrating viral persistence as well.