Many ways to skin this cat. I use as a starting point the following well known solvability condition of quadratic equations over a finite field of characteristic two. Here we need the trace function
$$
tr:\Bbb{F}_{2^k}\to\Bbb{F}_2,tr(x)=x+x^2+x^4+x^8+\cdots+x^{2^{k-1}}.
$$
Fact. The equation $$x^2+Bx+A=0$$ with $A,B\in\Bbb{F}_{2^k}, B\neq0$, has two solutions $x\in\Bbb{F}_{2^k}$ if $tr(A/B^2)=0$ and no solutions otherwise.
We will also need the fact that the trace is a surjective homomorphism of additive groups, and is stable under Frobenius, i.e. $tr(x^2)=tr(x)$. Therefore it takes both values $n/2$ times, and $tr(1)=k$ is zero or one according to the parity of $k$.
Because $f_b'(x)=x^2+1$ we see that the polynomial $f_b$ has zeros of multiplicity $>1$, iff $b=0$. Clearly $f_0(x)=0\Leftrightarrow x\in\{0,1\}$.
So if we denote by $\Bbb{F}_n^{**}=\Bbb{F}_n\setminus\{0,1\}$ then each $x\in\Bbb{F}_n^{**}$ is a zero of some $f_b(x)$ for exactly one choice of $b\neq0$, namely $b=f_0(x)=x^3+x$.
This leads us to study the mapping properties of $f_0$. As was also pointed out in Jack's answer we have
$$
\begin{aligned}
&&f_0(x)&=f_0(a)\\
\Leftrightarrow&&(x+a)(x^2+ax+a^2+1)&=0.
\end{aligned}
$$
Assume that $a\in\Bbb{F}_{2^k}^{**}$. The above fact gives us that the quadratic factor has two zeros $x$, iff
$$
tr(\frac{a^2+1}{a^2})=0\Leftrightarrow tr(\frac1a)=tr(1).
$$
Here $1/a$ ranges over $\Bbb{F}_{2^k}^{**}$ as $a$ does. Therefore this trace condition is satisfied by $(n-2)/2$ elements $a\in\Bbb{F}_{2^k}^{**}$ if $k$ is odd, and by $(n-4)/2$ elements if $k$ is even.
To summarize:
- the restriction of the polynomial mapping $f_0$ to the set
$$S_3=\{a\in\Bbb{F}^{**}\mid tr(1/a)=tr(1)\}$$ is 3-to-1, and
- the restriction of the polynomial mapping $f_0$ to the set
$$S_1=\{a\in\Bbb{F}^{**}\mid tr(1/a)\neq tr(1)\}$$ is 1-to-1,
- and $f_0(S_3)\cap f_0(S_1)=\emptyset$.
Consequently
- The polynomial $f_b(x)$ has three zeros for $|S_3|/3$ choices of $b\neq0$. If $k$ is even (resp. odd) this number is $(n-4)/6$ (resp. $(n-2)/6$).
- The polynomial $f_b(x)$ has a single zero for $|S_1|$ choices of $b\neq0$. If $k$ is even (resp. odd) this number is $n/2$ (resp. $(n-2)/2$).
- The polynomial $f_b(x)$ has no zeros for
$$n-1-|S_1|-\frac{|S_3|}3=\frac{n-(-1)^k}3$$ choices of $b\neq0$.