I take it the rope is not knotted or stiff and inside the winder housing? Recoil spring unsprung maybe???. I would try to move it in the direction that winds it back up to see if it's just not stuck, other than that disassembly maybe in order to see if the recoil spring broke or come unhooked?

There is no knot. The issue must be with the recoil spring. If I pop off the pulley, the spring will come with it and I'm not sure how hard it is to get it coiled back up behind the pulley.