In 2021 TurboTax, excess contributions for prior years is referring to contributions for years prior to 2021. Enter zero, not $6,000 if you had no excess contributions carried into 2021. (This is one of the many areas in the retirement section of TurboTax where the writer of the instructions had a less than complete grasp of the possible scenarios, resulting in a misleading instruction. Many people have similarly misunderstood this particular instruction the same as you originally did.)
