Backdoor Roth and pro rata rule with a Roth conversion involved

My understanding is that to avoid the pro rata rule for the backdoor Roth, your traditional IRA balance must be 0 before 2026, e.g. through a reverse 401K rollover. Does this still apply if you also made a Roth conversion from the traditional IRA to the Roth IRA earlier in the year?

Additionally, if I were to remove the partial disallowed Roth IRA contributions before April 15, 2026, rather than recharacterizing and doing a backdoor Roth, is that just a return of contribution + return, or does the pro rata rule trigger?

(I made a Roth conversion on a beaten down individual stock during the April bear market. I got lucky and it recovered nicely, but it resulted in this question).