Maatwebsite Excel failed to upload file

I am using Laravel-8 and Maatwebsite-3.1 package for upload:

I have this Excel sheet:

class StateOriginImport implements ToModel, WithHeadingRow, WithStartRow, SkipsOnError, WithValidation, SkipsOnFailure
{
    private $countries;

    use Importable, SkipsErrors, SkipsFailures;

    public function __construct()
    {
        $this->countries = Country::select('id', 'name', 'nationality')->get();
    }

    public function model(array $row)
    {
        $country           =   $this->countries->where('name', $row[1])->where('nationality', $row[1])->first();

        return new StateOrigin([
            'country_id'                  => $country->id ?? NULL,
            'name'                        => $row['2'],
            'created_at'                  => date("Y-m-d H:i:s"),
            'created_by'                  => Auth::user()->id,
        ]);
    }

    public function headingRow(): int
    {
        return 1;
    }

    public function startRow(): int
    {
        return 2;
    }

    public function customValidationAttributes()
    {
        return [
            '*.1'     => 'Country',
            '*.2'     => 'State Of Origin',
        ];
    }

    public function rules(): array
    {
        return [
            '*.1' => [
                'required',
            ],
            '*.2' => [
                'required',
                'string',
                'max:100',
                Rule::unique('state_origins')->where(function ($query) {
                    return $query->where('country_id', '*.1');
                })
            ],
        ];
    }

    public function batchSize(): int
    {
        return 1000;
    }

    public function chunkSize(): int
    {
        return 1000;
    }
}

The header is to be skipped. Country is a foreign key. When I submitted, I got this error, stating that it didn't see any of the rows:

{
  "message": [{
      "row": 2,
      "attribute": "Country",
      "errors": [
        "The Country field is required."
      ],
      "values": {
        "country": "Ghana",
        "state": "Accra"
      }
    },
    {
      "row": 2,
      "attribute": "State Of Origin",
      "errors": [
        "The State Of Origin field is required."
      ],
      "values": {
        "country": "Ghana",
        "state": "Accra"
      }
    },
    {
      "row": 3,
      "attribute": "Country",
      "errors": [
        "The Country field is required."
      ],
      "values": {
        "country": "Ghana",
        "state": "Kumasi"
      }
    },
    {
      "row": 3,
      "attribute": "State Of Origin",
      "errors": [
        "The State Of Origin field is required."
      ],
      "values": {
        "country": "Ghana",
        "state": "Kumasi"
      }
    },
    {
      "row": 4,
      "attribute": "Country",
      "errors": [
        "The Country field is required."
      ],
      "values": {
        "country": "Ghana",
        "state": "Ashante"
      }
    },
    {
      "row": 4,
      "attribute": "State Of Origin",
      "errors": [
        "The State Of Origin field is required."
      ],
      "values": {
        "country": "Ghana",
        "state": "Ashante"
      }
    }
  ],
}

Where have I missed it, and how do I resolve it?

Thanks