I'm unable to follow the instructions to transfer my photos from My Stream to iCloud

On an iPhone, if you have any Recently Deleted photos (deleted less than 30 days ago and also not manually removed from Recently Deleted) they should be able to be accessed by opening the Photos app, tapping Albums at the bottom of the page and then scrolling to the bottom of the "Utilities" section on that Albums page. Also see: If you're missing photos or videos in the Photos app - Apple Support

If they aren't there, you may want to Contact - Official Apple Support

If there is no My Photo Stream album in the location shown in Information about the My Photo Stream shutdown - Apple Support then you have no photos that are relevant to that support article (i.e., you have no Photo Stream photos to be saved).

If you have no Recently Deleted album, then you have no Recently Deleted photos. They are automatically removed after approximately 30 days or can be manually deleted from that album.

The following is unrelated to Photo Stream.

If you have no Recently Deleted album, then you have no Recently Deleted photos. They are automatically removed after approximately 30 days or can be manually deleted from that album.

You only need to do something about My Photo Stream, if you have been using My Photo Stream to sync photos between your devices. Have you been using My Photo Stream at all?

If you have been using my Photo Stream, you will see it in the Settings > Your Name > iCloud > Photos. Is therean option to enable My Photo Stream? And is the checkmark for My Photo Stream enabled? If not, there is nothing to save.

Only log-time users of Apple devices could enable My Photo Stream at all. Users with a relatively new AppleID could noot access My Photo STraem, as their devices are compatible with iCloud Photos.