Interesting, but "While it was never clear why Russia would seek to destroy its own lucrative pipeline..." is not true. There was/is a very good rationale for why Putin (not "Russia") would seek to destroy the pipeline. It wasn't bringing in any money, but it could (a lot) if Russia gave in to Western demands to pull out of Ukraine. There are persistent rumors that Medvedev and other high-ranking Russian officials were upset at the loss of western money, and Putin might have simply wanted to burn his bridges, for the same reason Vikings were said to have burned their bridges: to put out of your side's minds the option of retreat. With no NordStream, there was less temptation to try to get the West's business back (and at the point it was blown up, neither NordStream was actually bringing in much money anyway due to sanctions).
Now this doesn't mean Putin actually ordered it. But it's not true to say that there was no plausible reason w he would.