Using Zorin 17.3 since a long time now finally switched to 18 by erasing the damn drive of 17.3 to get everything fresh install. I installed it but while rebooting the system, now the Zorin logo is animating since ages and not bypassing it.
Can you confirm you observed all the basic checks before attempting to install Z18 Core. e.g. Z18Core .iso download file SHA256 checksum verification, BIOS secure boot and fast boot off etc: See this Before you install
Balena Etcher is good for MacBooks but not much else. And sadly, Ventoy doesn't work on Macs (I think). Do you have access to another machine at all to create a bootable Ventoy stick?