In my house I had a door latch that behaved moistly the same. I would spray some silicone spray on a paper towel and wipe off the striker and plate and it would work for a while. Eventually I just replaced the lock and plate and it has worked fine ever since. For your situation I would ask if the finger rub is depositing oils or just moving the latch up and down and freeing it from some internal binding.
If it acts up again I would rub the striker with a folded paper towel between my finger and the latch. Or put your hand inside a plastic bag and do the rub. If the door closes easily after the rub with no chance of oil transfer then I would say the internals are suspect.
Alternatively if it acts up again you could try spraying a tiny bit of lubricant onto the latch without touching it and see if it helps. that would also tell you if it's the oil or the jiggling of the latch that's doing the work.
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