USB joystick device (pedals) works via wine and proton, but not when run via Steam client

This occurs with Proton 6.3-6 though I've reproduced with other versions as well.

Issue: USB joystick device (pedals) works via wine and proton, but not when run via steam

Description: I have a set of USB pedals that work fine in wine/proton games and show up in wine's control.exe panel (ID 068e:00f2 CH Products, Inc. Flight Sim Pedals). The device has an /dev/input/js* and /dev/input/event* device. It's a 3-axis joystick. The device doesn't show up in steam controller settings though two other joysticks do. When I play games, or invoke control.exe instead of the game's executable, the pedals are missing. However, if I invoke wine or proton in a different way (say, by setting the COMPAT_PATH and invoking "proton run /path/to/exe") this device does show up and does work. This is a workaround.

To reproduce: Run game via steam, then run from the command line with a different environment. In the first case, no pedals joystick; in the latter, it's there and usable. For testing I symlinked the game's launcher executable to proton's wine's control.exe, where I could see/not see the device appear.

I've attached a zip file with:

• a steam log (with +hidp,+hid_report,+rawinput,+xinput,+dinput,+plugplay,+joystick,+winmm,+timestamp) (steam_notworking.log)
• a wine log with working controls (wine_working.log)
• the environment used by proton when invoked via steam (the contents of g_settings.env) (steam_env.json)
• the environment used by proton when invoked via another method where the controls work (working_env.json)
• Scripts I used to run the game via proton and proton's wine, where the controller works.

Attachments here

I also note, when I start Steam from the command line I see this; only the second two show up in game and in controller settings.

 type: 068e 00f2                            
  path: sdl://0                              
  serial_number:  - 0                        
  Manufacturer:                              
  Product:      CH PRODUCTS CH PRO PEDALS USB
  Release:      100                          
  Interface:    -1
                                                          
Local Device Found
  type: 06a3 0c2d    
  path: sdl://1 
  serial_number:  - 0                        
  Manufacturer:    
  Product:      Saitek Pro Flight Quadrant
  Release:      100
  Interface:    -1
                                                          
Local Device Found
  type: 044f b108    
  path: sdl://2 
  serial_number:  - 0                     
  Manufacturer:    
  Product:      Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas X
  Release:      100
  Interface:    -1```

(I don't understand how proton invoked from Steam has a different environment, but I think it comes down to something in the LD_LIBRARY_PATH as messing around with this in my scripts can reproduce the behavior.)
  
  

Start by comparing steam_notworking.log with wine_working.log and the recorded steam_env.json and working_env.json, then inspect the attached scripts that invoke Proton. Reproduce the Steam-client and alternate-environment paths with the CH Products pedals; done means the pedals appear in controller settings and are available to the game through the Steam path.