iCloud contacts in Outlook desktop for Windows not working

I'm setting up a new computer running Windows 11 and the latest version of Outlook desktop. I installed iCloud for Windows. When I select the option to sync Contacts and Calendars with Outlook I get the following error: "Your setup couldn't be started because of an unexpected error. 0x00040680".

I've Googled the error to find many people having issues with a variety of hail Mary workarounds that may or may not work. I've tried to main ones (like disabling anti-virus and software firewalls) to no avail.

What's the solution?

And overall, why is iCloud for Windows so often buggy and frustrating? I've been using it for a few years and it's been a major pain that's caused data loss.