diff --git a/app/AbstractRequest.php b/app/AbstractRequest.php
index cfeb09c..ec1259b 100644
--- a/app/AbstractRequest.php
+++ b/app/AbstractRequest.php
@@ -247,7 +247,7 @@ public function toGuzzle(): Request
         $this->setAcceptHeaders();
         $this->setOnStats();
 
-        return new Request($this->method, $this->getURL(), $this->headers, $this->encodeBody());
+        return new Request($this->method, $this->getURL(), $this->getHeaders(), $this->encodeBody());
     }
 
     /**
@@ -260,7 +260,26 @@ public function getArguments(): array
     }
 
     /**
-     * Simple readonly getter to read the headers so far.
+     * Getter for the headers to be sent with the request. Called by toGuzzle() immediately before send,
+     * so it is the preferred place to attach headers that must be computed freshly (e.g., pulled from a
+     * secrets store, or a compiled JWT) rather than set once in __construct().
+     *
+     * This matters for AbstractUseStaleRequest: the background refresh job serializes/unserializes a clone
+     * of the request, so anything only set in __construct() (or otherwise stored as plain state) reflects
+     * whatever it was at the time of the *original* request, not a fresh value at refresh time. Overriding
+     * getHeaders() (the same pattern used by getCacheTags()) instead of relying on the $headers property
+     * ensures the value is recomputed every time the request is actually sent, both before and after
+     * serialization.
+     *
+     * @example
+     *   public function getHeaders(): array
+     *   {
+     *       return [
+     *           ...parent::getHeaders(),
+     *           'Authorization' => 'Bearer ' . $this->fetchToken(),
+     *       ];
+     *   }
+     *
      * @return array
      */
     public function getHeaders(): array