I don't think it is a non-factor- Penrith and Storm both live and work in their communities and they have had results.
One of the most commonly said things post Grand Final is we all live near each other we all know each other's family etc.
The contribution might be small, but I don't think it doesn't exist. If you know you have to drive 90 minutes home you're in the car straight away. I am not hanging around to chat about your wife or family. On days off I am not coming back 90 minutes to have lunch with you.
When the Bulls won six Shields in 10 years, they would often talk about the time they spent with each other and living in the same street. I remember Bic saying Kaspa drove past his house and noticed his gate was damaged so got out and fixed it. You can scoff at that, but those sorts of things are small but help teams.
The Broncos used to get together every Monday and have a beer at the Kenmore Tavern.
I think there is something in a team living near each other. It's old school live and play in your community.
Besides the social team aspect, what about injuries and sitting in a car for three hours? What about rest and all those things that are important?