Regarding the initial question; stars have always been formed with or without a nearby galaxy in a region of high density hydrogen gas in conditions of near zero energy we simply call mind numbing cold.

It is cool to see how such extreme cold will lead to extreme heat of an eventual star by gravity doing its slow and inexorable power.

As for astrophysicists, their job is to measure as much as they are ale to understand the nature of the changing universe.
Once they can no longer measure qualities of the universe that do not interact in measurable ways the cosmologist is better suited with the knowledge of the measurers to flesh out the unseen unmeasurable universe.

the evolution of the universe offers clues to the unseen cosmos and predicts what may be next.

Thread drift into the creationist viewpoint I view as answers for the least curious, least wondrous AND lazy, yet still valid to the point that the unseen does exist and poses forces greater than our 3D CORNER OF THE UNIVERSE.

I am glad this discussion has flowered despite my previous attempts to spur the fascination of how close we are to immense understanding thanks to the efforts of the measurers throughout the millennia and especial the 100 years.