Real noob question - CSOM / PnP / SPFX

Hello,

Apologies in advance for this simple question, I'm getting myself confused.

I have experience creating the old-style webparts in Vis Studio using CSOM. I now want to create modern web parts for modern pages. I am keen to use Visual Code and SPFX if possible as this seems the future path for dev. I have gone through the HelloWorld and Connecting to SharePoint spfx tutorials, so far so good. The problem is when I start to try more complex parts and need to interact further with lists and libraries etc, I'm hitting a wall.

My question is, can I use CSOM somehow with SPFX development, or is that JavaScript only? If so, does that mean my best bet is to learn javascript? Or is there a way I can use CSOM in Vis Studio as I am used to to create modern web parts? I am also keen to use PnP is whatever way is best to utilise the goodness etc so any pointers on how that should fit into the equation appreciated.

Any simple guidance appreciated, I'm going round in circles at present.

Thanks.