under the name “conversion functions.” These exist in Ruby’s standard library - for example Array() is one that you’re likely to see in real code.

Trust this answer. This is a very common idiom in Ruby, solving precisely the use case you ask about and for precisely the reasons you experienced. It may look "inelegant", but it's your best bet.

Stating that some language feature or common programming idiom (like accessors) has problems is not the same thing as saying you should never use them under any circumstances.