I wasn’t confused. I got my information from a solved post by @lpb (Larry Berger, Partner - Forum Leader), on post #16, in Custom sort project list?, who said “You can sort the Team’s project still, but now you must do so in the Team page. In the sidebar, click the Team name to view the Team page. Drag and drop the projects to reorder them. The results will both be reflected there and back in the sidebar when you…”
Since I was reading the shortened version from within the quote, I was certain it was referring to the sidebar’s current project list. As I go to the actual post there, it reads: “The results will both be reflected there and back in the sidebar when you hover the team and see the popup list of projects.” Since the team section in the sidebar cannot stay expanded like the project list can, that’s not what I wanted.
That’s why I tried sorting the projects in the team window - thinking that the projects in the sidebar would be sorted the same.
You mention in your post “3.2 Why can’t I sort my projects the way I want?” that you should star your projects, then sort the starred ones in the sidebar. Though I have no idea why the design team felt this was more efficient than allowing custom sorting within the project section in the sidebar, it worked.