On the argument about whether soreness improves, reduces, or doesn't affect soreness (for athletes/elite athletes):
I've trained for sports since I was 3 years old. Literally, my dad had me training functional movements, skills, drills, and calisthenics when I was in early grade school; I started lifting in 7th grade, way before most other creatures of the Cretaceous period (back then it was "weird" to lift, not popular as it is today) developed a taste for iron. I have been an athlete at various levels of sport in various sports, and I have trained athletes, whether amateur or professional. I don't know everything about the effects of soreness on performance but I will say that it's a "spectrum" phenomenon, and, whether pain is acute or not, it divides into types. It's notoriously difficult to diagnose and treat pain, and it can be difficult to advise someone whether to train/perform or not based on pain. And then there is suffering, which is like pain, but now it's a choice. If we suffer, it's ALWAYS a choice.
What I can say from experience is that pain can hinder performance, boost performance, or have no effect at all on performance.
The type and severity of the pain define whether or not an athlete at any level will perform better, worse, or the same as usual. The pain tolerance of the athlete and the type of activity play into it, too. And you can have mixed results ...
I can tell you for a fact that elite athletes can and do regularly perform with pain, sometimes even acute and severe pain. This is especially the case for contact -- a.k.a. "tough" -- sports. Does it effect performance? Often, yes, and generally but not exclusively it means a downgrade in performance. But it depends on pain tolerance, adaptations, etc..
If you asked me whether I thought I would perform better in a typical contact sport with a broken finger or a broken nose or a sprained wrist, more than likely, as an athlete, my response would be "let's find out". If we're just talking about muscular soreness, in the big picture, unless it's a tear or a really bad pull, it's nothing.