What I like to see is a pilot who from different angles includes standing still and LOOKING at the aircraft. Really studying it.
And checking that things which should be symeteric are.
I learnt this by not following the above advice, before flying a Slingsby T67. I gave the undercarriage a cursory inspection, and it looked normal on both sides. However, it wasn't. The right side was damaged by an earlier heavy landing, which could be clearly seen when looking at both sides from a distance.
Fortunately the damage was so severe that the aeroplane pulled to one side when taxying, so I abandoned the trip before takeoff. It turned out that the wing had been badly damaged as well, but this was not visible externally.
If I had flown, there would inevitably have been an accident.