There are several possible outcomes. All are better than early capitulation.
1) Abbott would have to call several more special sessions. This would keep the battle alive in the media, and would provide continued justification for blue states to ramp up their own gerrymandering changes.
2) That would have created some disenchantment within the Texas GOP because the legislature is truly a part-time job. They were supposed to be home by now and not have to come back in 2026. So, as pleasant as Austin might be, it ain't home, and many of these legislators have farms and businesses to run.
3) Considering all of the above, Abbott might have bee pressed into some kind of compromise where they gerrymander a little but not as much as threatened. We will never know because the capitulation happened before any of these wheels could get into motion.