1. I don't have any information or insight here, other than deductions from vague and non-specific knowledge. So all I have is skepticism.
2. The original claim was that there's no reason to test the portal because you can find out that information before hand. I'm still skeptical. I don't doubt that the Dalton Knechts are getting recruited mid-season or earlier. But there are just so many players -- there's no way that any coach could handle that volume.
That is to say, there surely has to be some value in declaring for the portal. At the very least, it's an indication that the player does in fact want to move, which helps coaches at other schools narrow down their film study, scouting, etc. I don't think you'd put a ton of effort into scouting unless you know the player is serious about moving. An agent -- especially a new, small-time agent -- isn't going to be able to provide a satisfactory verbal assurance of that. And coaches aren't going to necessarily be super-forthcoming either. Why would they say, "we're completely not interested?"
3. High school recruiting was year-round, and I suspect portal recruitment has filled in much of that. So I'd imagine a lot of the "weekly phone calls," are of the sort that used to happen in high school recruiting. It's focusing on the players you want, not necessarily scouting the world in December. But I don't really know.