Most modern laptops only have a mic-in and not a line-in. Mic level signal are much lower than line levels.
If this is the case then you are a candidate for one of the external USB souncards which we know work well with Audacity: https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/sound-card-reviews/8375/1
The UCA-202 gets many honourable mentions on this forum.
WC