Yeah, it's not as important as professionals make it out to be. Like, if you under-salt a dish, people will notice that the meal doesn't taste as good as the last time you made it, even if they can't identify why. But the "depth" that bay leaves are supposed to add to a dish, probably won't even register for most people. I don't think bay leaves are entirely useless, but I do think it's safe for home cooks to consider it an optional ingredient. If you have them, use them. If you don't this time? Don't worry about it.