Is there not enough room for a through-hole resistor to just hang out in the air? Most devices I've opened seem to have more than enough room, so long as one is skilled enough with the small chisel tip.

Yeah, it's a significantly trickier proposition when the pads aren't there.

The contacts are in the connector, you just need to bring them out and get the resistor on them, which is frankly a pain I shouldn't have to endure when USB-C has been out for 12 years. None of this is rocket science, the manufacturers just aren't feeling the pain.