But come to think of it, holding from 2017 to this very day isn't easy, and I highly doubt that this friend of yours would have held this bitcoin from 2017 till date if he hadn't lost access to the wallet, or what do you think?
OP did not mention whether his friend sold those bitcoins or still holds them. If after he restored his account and immediately sold the bitcoin. One thing is for sure, if he hadn't lost access, he probably would have sold it long ago.
Indeed, holding BTC has never been easy. Easier said than done, especially years ago when bitcoin was not popular, many countries, banks banned it and no institutions invested in. Investing in bitcoin is considered challenging and risky, let alone holding it for a long time is easy.