I have to agree. Nothing beats the joy of playing, if you are up for it.
And the bass is incredibly fun. And not all that hard. It is also more of the backbone of the song and the songwriting process than some would lead you to believe. Look at Paul McCartney and Sting. Melodic bass is hypnotizing.
If you get a bass and just start fooling around with it, the bass will come to you. Sure, you will grow an insatiable curiosity and look up everything there is to know about bass playing, but first you have to let the instrument seduce you. You don't want to tightly control the bass, or any other instrument. You want to let the instrument have its way with you. Go ahead, get hypnotized.

THEN, you will look at BIAB in a whole new light, my friend. Some magical lights will switch on, trust me.