  The progenitor of SN 2023ixf was a $\sim$10$^{4.8}$ to $10^{5.0}\rm ~L_\odot$
star ($\sim$9 to $14 \rm~M_\odot$ at birth) obscured by a dusty $\dot{M} \simeq
10^{-5} \rm~M_\odot~yr^{-1}$ wind with a visual optical depth of $\tau_V \simeq
13$. This is required by the progenitor SED, the post-SN X-ray and H$\alpha$
luminosities, and the X-ray column density estimates. In Large Binocular
Telescope (LBT) data spanning 5600 to 400 d before the SN, there is no evidence
for optical variability at the level of $\sim$10$^3\rm~L_\odot$ in $R$ band,
roughly 3 times the predicted luminosity of the obscured progenitor. This
constrains direct observation of any pre-SN optical outbursts where there are
LBT observations. However, models of the effects of any pre-SN outburst on the
dusty wind show that an outburst of essentially any duration exceeding $\sim$5
times the luminosity of the progenitor would have detectable effects on the
dust optical depth for decades. While the dust obscuration here is high, all
red supergiants have dusty winds, and the destruction (or formation) of dust by
even short-lived transients will always have long term effects on the observed
brightness of the star because changes in the dust optical depths after a
luminous transient occur very slowly.
