Aren't albatrosses effectively doing wave soaring
I wouldn't have thought so. The surface irregularities associated with the (comparatively) minor ocean wave profile would be unlikely to produce much perturbation in the wind trajectories.
However, even if you have an absolutely smooth surface for miles and miles around, there will be a near surface wind profile similar to the boundary layer near the surface of an aircraft in flight.
The typical atmospheric boundary layer model is the one-seventh relationship, commonly used in certification and FT work.
There are a few threads speaking to this topic .. for instance, a typical
example was looking at speed additives.
Your albatross might be gliding downwind toward the ocean's surface, then wheeling around into wind and climbing into the shear to gain some energy, then wheeling around downwind and so on .. ? The penalty for the bird, of course, is that the gross flightpath inevitably is downwind.
For the ridge/wave soaring folk, one can remain more or less in the same area or, indeed, near motionless ..