With you completely, the NHS isn't always as flexible or family friendly as it likes to pretend, and one of the issues if you go out to another sector and come back in now is that you effectively forfeit any rights to annual increments for several years should you return or get a new job at a higher band. I still cannot believe the unions accepted it, they really were asleep at the wheel on that one though the penny is only starting to drop now with some of my colleagues as of course there was that little matter of the pandemic....
In addition there is no guarantee that any previous experience will be taken into account with regards to a starting salary, even the RCN states not to assume you'd be put on an equivalent pay point if you change Trusts... Can't imagine why there are so many recruitment and retention issues apart from the obvious reasons after COVID....
I'm presuming you're also limited geographically, and it sounds like you're trying for research nurse, information officer, trainer, anything that might suit. Back in the day you might have been able to get a decent secondment with the forerunners of Health Education England and the like, but they're like hen's teeth now and will be for some time now due to yet another merger/reorganisation/well paid revolving door redundancy scheme before the same people are probably employed again a few weeks later...
Sorry, that was a bit of a ramble. To answer your question about coping, though, I did actually calculate recently how many days I have left where I actually have to go to work until I can retire (I'm not that old but I am very jaded and I'm not even frontline), and then I worked out how many days that is per year. I'm contemplating designing a special calendar for it...I have been more senior previously but the extra pay isn't worth the hassle and the sucking up. I do have hobbies that I really enjoy and I'm now concentrating on building that up as an income stream and focus, as it's something I can and will continue into retirement. And when particularly drivelly self indulgent ego driven nonsense issues forth from certain seniors or out of touch ministers I cope by imagining it as a Jo Brand comedy sketch. Complete with facial expressions.
I also remind myself regularly that I work to live, not live to work, enjoy nature and my family, and am contemplating getting involved with some of the extra curricular groups where I work, for instance sustainability, to help motivate myself to get up in the morning. Also, small treats on work days help - not necessarily edible. 🙂