CoT-ER can be optimized for handling larger support sets by implementing a more efficient instance retrieval module. One approach could involve refining the similarity-based KNN retrieval method to better select instances that are most relevant to the query instance. This could include incorporating more advanced techniques such as fine-tuning the encoder model or using more sophisticated distance metrics to improve the selection process. Additionally, optimizing the prompt generation process to accommodate a larger number of instances in a single prompt would allow CoT-ER to leverage more information from the support set.