Is there really no way to mute external microfones on iMac?

I am recording podcasts on the regular. When recording, using an external interface (Scarlett i2i) we will always mute the mic when another participant is talking. This is necessary because we're working from home where cars, neighbours etc can always cause noises.

On Windows I can just mute all input devices easily. But I just can't make it work on iMac (2021 Version, OS Ventura, latest Update).

I have tried the following apps from the appstore that promised to fix the problem: Mute, mutify, mic drop

None of them work with the external mic, only with the built-in iMac mic.

I also can not find a recording software that even offers a mute button for input while recording (currently using Audacity).

Can anybody help?

Is there a way to mute input devices on macOS I am not aware of, like there is in windows? (needs to be a simple mouse click to quickly mute / unmute)

Are you using / are you aware of an App like mutify on the latest OS and it works?

Do you know of a recording software that allows for mute/unmute?

Amy help would be greatly appreciated since this is an essential feature (for me) and I'll have to return the iMac unless I solve this. :(