Even though there is some seldom-seen stuff mixed in with this scenario, there is also a heavy dose of "deja vu all over again" mixed in with it.
Y'all will recall that when Boehner retired McCarthy was absolutely the lead candidate for Speaker but put his foot in his mouth on some topic and had to withdraw. So this is not his first time getting 90% of the way there and not being able to the deed- easily anyway.
Then when McCarthy withdrew the pubs went off and recruited Paul Ryan. And while that is not the same as bringing in an outsider to be Speaker, it is true that they ended out bringing in someone who was not theretofore interested in the position and said he did not want it (Paul Ryan). So they had to do an unexpected reach outside the box on that one .
If they brought Steve Scalese in, who is not interested and supports McCarthy, that would not be unlike the Ryan scenario. Not saying they necessarily will, just that we have seen the movie before.
What is different of course is that in those previous cases they worked it out before a floor vote.