class Request extends SymfonyRequest implements Arrayable, ArrayAccess { use Concerns\InteractsWithContentTypes, Concerns\InteractsWithFlashData, Concerns\InteractsWithInput, Macroable;
Neither SymfonyRequest nor the traits have a validate() method.
But Macroable defines __call and __callStatic, so probably from there. Can't dump $request because too large -> link to blogpost
$ ack 'equest::macro' vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Foundation/Providers/FoundationServiceProvider.php 38: Request::macro('validate', function (array $rules, ...$params) {