Bootloader fails to install

No, it is no problem. Your meaning was understood.

Regarding this:

If you want rEFInd to automatically generate a boot entry for you, you need to mount the EFI partition and run refind-install from within the booted OS (even though rEFInd is already on the EFI from the Windows installation). That is what generates the EFI stub that rEFInd boots off of.

The other option is to create a manual boot stanza in your refind.conf, however running refind-install and automatically generating the bootable EFI stub is much easier. Take a look at this part of the ArchWiki article about writing the stanza and you’ll see what I mean: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/REFInd#For_manual_boot_stanzas