There are no dumb questions. I am sure many share your concerns. In addition to what @JasonJoel shared, there is this Wiki I started a while ago that has details on how to connect (commission) Matter devices using the 4 most popular controllers: [Wiki] Connecting Matter devices to Hubitat Elevation
You almost nailed it. You connect a device to one of these controllers using the QR or setup code from the device, then you get a new key for that controller - a Matter setup code (11 digits) - and use that code to pair the device to Hubitat.
