How to enter a rotation with healthy skepticism

Incoming biomedical PhD student for context. Briefly, I will be doing a rotation in a lab that would offer the most resources and freedom to develop an intellectually exciting project. Even if I don’t join, this rotation will be useful to me because I will be learning unfamiliar, but ubiquitous technical skills. The issue for me is more political — this PI doesn’t have the best reputation, namely trainees are required to have a high degree of intellectual independence and mentoring suffers if you aren’t productive. While my conversations with the PI have been positive and collaborative, and they connected me to current and former students who were candid but overall positive about their experiences, I do know there’s a lot of flattery that can happen in the rotation phase, especially as I am coming in with funding.

I am rotating in two other labs, one that I have previously worked in and would be very happy to join for my PhD (PI has also confirmed they’d be happy to have me back) and one with a universally positive reputation, so I am not worried about being stuck without a thesis lab. With this third rotation, I’m not sure how to approach it having a mixed impression going in. To be frank, I find it hard to act natural and chipper around people if I’ve heard negative things, if that makes sense? I think I’m just not very trusting of people, particularly in academia where egos and workplace toxicity run high.

How would you approach a rotation in a lab that is offering a lot scientifically, but may be problematic to work in? What is a healthy amount of skepticism and what are things I should look out for?