This feels like a significant downside of Linux. It’s the same issue as desktop - even if I give automount instructions for a drive, I’ll need my password. And sometimes, it’d be nice to have it happen for a first time drive.

It’s likely required because of the way any mount point could interfere with the filesystem. One thing that I always felt made more sense in Windows was its lettered drives - you start from the device and seek downwards by path - and I think I still stand by it.