No problem with contacts. I have students that wear them for skills and keep their eyes closed. PADI's mask skill requirements in the pool are partial mask flood (up to your eye level) and clear, full flood and clear, mask removal and replacement, and swimming 15m/50' underwater with a buddy and no mask (and then replacing it). When you get into open water, you only need to do the first 3 skills.
There's no skill requirement for finding a mask at the bottom of a pool - never encountered that in my instructor or technical training so it sounds old-school.
Either way you do it, eyes open or closed, the instructor will be close by to hang on to you (it can be hard to judge your buoyancy without a visual reference) for control. When you do the no-mask swim, it will be done with your buddy holding on to you for assistance and guidance.
There's no skill requirement for finding a mask at the bottom of a pool - never encountered that in my instructor or technical training so it sounds old-school.
Either way you do it, eyes open or closed, the instructor will be close by to hang on to you (it can be hard to judge your buoyancy without a visual reference) for control. When you do the no-mask swim, it will be done with your buddy holding on to you for assistance and guidance.