@woozle
That could work, and if I remember, I'll try it next time the touchpad doesn't initialize. Should be quicker than restarting.

I also wonder if hitting the Windows¹ key, then typing "tou" and hitting Enter to open the Mouse and Keyboard dialog. The touchpad can be disabled and re-enabled using the keyboard. That might be enough to get the computer to see the touchpad again.

[1] As I still think of it, even if #LinuxMint prefers Super, and other distros say Meta (which I like better as a name).