You may be --- without meaning to --- narrowing down the Holy Spirit's options on this. There's no need to think He's limited to choosing only one, rather than allowing a choice among several good options.
I would hope that all the also-rans were also worthy men, any one of whom could have made a good pope.
Like most--- not all, but most --- matters which depend on human freedom (the choice of a college, of a major, of a spouse, of a job) God gives us a number of "goods" among which we are free to choose. I
Often it's a selectin process dealing with a set of rather evenly matched goods. The Holy Spirit permits this range. It's not always a contest between good and evil.
Except that I do believe the statement has been made that it’s the Holy Spirit who chooses the next Pope. So now you are saying that it’s really the Cardinals who choose but the Holy Spirit puts a list of options up for consideration?