Closing OBS releases everything, so then it can request it back using the new settings. Might take several restarts of OBS to get there though, because some resources are exclusive and either OBS or the OS hasn't figured out that a new request replaces the old instead of adding to. But as long as all the hardware stays the same (exact same things in the exact same ports, always, and any software config is done the exact same way before starting OBS - I use a batch/bash script for that, whether I'm on Windows/Linux), the same settings in OBS seem to 'just work', every time, with no further rearrangement. Sometimes I have to re-map all of the video captures between configs too.

Two different cameras are upside-down from each other, for example, so I right-click the source -> Transform -> Rotate 180deg, and then that works. Most of the time, the testing only shows minor problems, like the difference between the configuration for this gig and the previous one, so they're easy to fix. Test it with time to troubleshoot, burn the rest of that time that I end up not needing, and then use it. My general philosophy is to establish the entire physical configuration before booting the OS, let that settle down, then start OBS and related things.

Then when it *is* used, it doesn't mess things up. Not a problem for me, though I do make sure to not change a configuration that works, even if it means leaving some hardware plugged in that is rarely used, like a couple of USB wireless mic receivers that have nowhere else to go anyway.

Instaling OBS Studio 29.1.3