/**
   * When we need a new thread to run tasks, we call [Backend.execute]. A few microseconds later we
   * expect a newly-started thread to call [Runnable.run]. We shouldn't request new threads until
   * the already-requested ones are in service, otherwise we might create more threads than we need.
   *
   * We use [executeCallCount] and [runCallCount] to defend against starting more threads than we
   * need. Both fields are guarded by `this`.
   */