Thunderbird will support matrix protocol out-of-the-box in version 102 (due June) and is available in v91 beta now.
I just tried it, you go to preferences, edit config, add a string “chat.prpls.prpl-matrix.disable” and set it to false and matrix becomes an available option in the chats part of your account setup…now to find my old password…
Thanks for the sleuthing.