diff --git a/core/modules/layout_builder/src/Annotation/SectionStorage.php b/core/modules/layout_builder/src/Annotation/SectionStorage.php
index 73924be8ad..9a52cff5da 100644
--- a/core/modules/layout_builder/src/Annotation/SectionStorage.php
+++ b/core/modules/layout_builder/src/Annotation/SectionStorage.php
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ class SectionStorage extends Plugin {
    *
    * @var array
    *
-   * @see \Drupal\layout_builder\Entity\LayoutBuilderEntityViewDisplay::getRuntimeSections()
+   * @see \Drupal\layout_builder\SectionStorage\SectionStorageManagerInterface::findByContext()
    */
   public $context = [];
 
diff --git a/core/modules/layout_builder/src/Plugin/SectionStorage/DefaultsSectionStorage.php b/core/modules/layout_builder/src/Plugin/SectionStorage/DefaultsSectionStorage.php
index 24c230055c..06e5a2036e 100644
--- a/core/modules/layout_builder/src/Plugin/SectionStorage/DefaultsSectionStorage.php
+++ b/core/modules/layout_builder/src/Plugin/SectionStorage/DefaultsSectionStorage.php
@@ -244,7 +244,15 @@ public function getContextsFromRoute($value, $definition, $name, array $defaults
   }
 
   /**
-   * {@inheritdoc}
+   * Extracts an entity from the route values.
+   *
+   * @param mixed $value
+   *   The raw value from the route.
+   * @param array $defaults
+   *   The route defaults array.
+   *
+   * @return \Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityInterface|null
+   *   The entity for the route, or NULL if none exist.
    */
   protected function extractEntityFromRoute($value, array $defaults) {
     // If a bundle is not provided but a value corresponding to the bundle key
diff --git a/core/modules/layout_builder/src/Plugin/SectionStorage/OverridesSectionStorage.php b/core/modules/layout_builder/src/Plugin/SectionStorage/OverridesSectionStorage.php
index 4eec93230b..b1db3c5a36 100644
--- a/core/modules/layout_builder/src/Plugin/SectionStorage/OverridesSectionStorage.php
+++ b/core/modules/layout_builder/src/Plugin/SectionStorage/OverridesSectionStorage.php
@@ -116,7 +116,15 @@ public function getContextsFromRoute($value, $definition, $name, array $defaults
   }
 
   /**
-   * {@inheritdoc}
+   * Extracts an entity from the route values.
+   *
+   * @param mixed $value
+   *   The raw value from the route.
+   * @param array $defaults
+   *   The route defaults array.
+   *
+   * @return \Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityInterface|null
+   *   The entity for the route, or NULL if none exist.
    */
   protected function extractEntityFromRoute($value, array $defaults) {
     if (strpos($value, '.') !== FALSE) {
diff --git a/core/modules/layout_builder/src/Routing/LayoutTempstoreParamConverter.php b/core/modules/layout_builder/src/Routing/LayoutTempstoreParamConverter.php
index 946b5f35cf..e5976ca0bd 100644
--- a/core/modules/layout_builder/src/Routing/LayoutTempstoreParamConverter.php
+++ b/core/modules/layout_builder/src/Routing/LayoutTempstoreParamConverter.php
@@ -45,12 +45,17 @@ public function __construct(LayoutTempstoreRepositoryInterface $layout_tempstore
    * {@inheritdoc}
    */
   public function convert($value, $definition, $name, array $defaults) {
-    if (isset($defaults['section_storage_type']) && $this->sectionStorageManager->hasDefinition($defaults['section_storage_type'])) {
-      $contexts = $this->sectionStorageManager->loadEmpty($defaults['section_storage_type'])->getContextsFromRoute($value, $definition, $name, $defaults);
-      if ($section_storage = $this->sectionStorageManager->load($defaults['section_storage_type'], $contexts)) {
-        // Pass the plugin through the tempstore repository.
-        return $this->layoutTempstoreRepository->get($section_storage);
-      }
+    // If no section storage type is specified or if it is invalid, return.
+    if (!isset($defaults['section_storage_type']) || !$this->sectionStorageManager->hasDefinition($defaults['section_storage_type'])) {
+      return NULL;
+    }
+
+    // Load an empty instance and derive the available contexts.
+    $contexts = $this->sectionStorageManager->loadEmpty($defaults['section_storage_type'])->getContextsFromRoute($value, $definition, $name, $defaults);
+    // Attempt to load a full instance based on the context.
+    if ($section_storage = $this->sectionStorageManager->load($defaults['section_storage_type'], $contexts)) {
+      // Pass the plugin through the tempstore repository.
+      return $this->layoutTempstoreRepository->get($section_storage);
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/core/modules/layout_builder/src/SectionStorage/SectionStorageManager.php b/core/modules/layout_builder/src/SectionStorage/SectionStorageManager.php
index 5d4e8fb6f1..eaa3082e21 100644
--- a/core/modules/layout_builder/src/SectionStorage/SectionStorageManager.php
+++ b/core/modules/layout_builder/src/SectionStorage/SectionStorageManager.php
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ protected function findDefinitions() {
   /**
    * {@inheritdoc}
    */
-  public function load($type, array $contexts) {
+  public function load($type, array $contexts = []) {
     $plugin = $this->loadEmpty($type);
     try {
       $this->contextHandler->applyContextMapping($plugin, $contexts);
diff --git a/core/modules/layout_builder/src/SectionStorage/SectionStorageManagerInterface.php b/core/modules/layout_builder/src/SectionStorage/SectionStorageManagerInterface.php
index 26d0f9b42b..63d8b4ad5e 100644
--- a/core/modules/layout_builder/src/SectionStorage/SectionStorageManagerInterface.php
+++ b/core/modules/layout_builder/src/SectionStorage/SectionStorageManagerInterface.php
@@ -7,6 +7,11 @@
 /**
  * Provides the interface for a plugin manager of section storage types.
  *
+ * Note that this interface purposefully does not implement
+ * \Drupal\Component\Plugin\PluginManagerInterface, as the below methods exist
+ * to serve the use case of \Drupal\Component\Plugin\Factory\FactoryInterface
+ * and \Drupal\Component\Plugin\Mapper\MapperInterface.
+ *
  * @internal
  *   Layout Builder is currently experimental and should only be leveraged by
  *   experimental modules and development releases of contributed modules.
@@ -20,12 +25,12 @@ interface SectionStorageManagerInterface extends DiscoveryInterface {
    * @param string $type
    *   The section storage type.
    * @param \Drupal\Component\Plugin\Context\ContextInterface[] $contexts
-   *   The contexts available for this storage to use.
+   *   (optional) The contexts available for this storage to use.
    *
    * @return \Drupal\layout_builder\SectionStorageInterface|null
-   *   The section storage.
+   *   The section storage or NULL if its context requirements are not met.
    */
-  public function load($type, array $contexts);
+  public function load($type, array $contexts = []);
 
   /**
    * Finds the section storage to load based on available contexts.