> OpenAI researchers are proud of the work that they do.

Well, the failed revolution from last year combined with the non-profit bait-and-switch pretty much conclusively proved that OpenAI researchers are in it for the money first and foremost, and pride has a dollar value.

How much say do individual researchers even have in this move?

And how does that prove anything about their motivations "first and foremost"? They could be in it because they like the work itself, and secondary concerns like open or not don't matter to them. There's basically infinite interpretations of their motivations.