Towers of massive states are ubiquitous in string theory. This observation has led to multiple conjectures, known as distance conjectures, that quantify the universal behaviors of such towers. Due to the strong implications of distance conjectures, connecting them to more fundamental principles without relying on string theory is crucial. In this talk, I will give bottom-up arguments for some aspects of these conjectures using black hole thermodynamics and high-energy gravitational amplitudes.