Comments button won't work

Another note: I had edited my index file in order to create a page template where my blog posts would appear. I used this set of instructions https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-create-a-separate-page-for-blog-posts-in-wordpress/. Would this have somehow limited comment functionality?

Have you tried switching to the Twenty Ten theme to rule out any theme-specific problems?