Hey man, definitely feel your pain. I’m not currently in a career halt as you are, but I sure was last year, during the summer months.
The one thing that got me back on my feet was to be brutally honest with myself. I would pour countless hours into AJ tracks, with no results. Instead of blaming anything other than myself, I took a good hard look at what I was creating.
Sure, the tracks were pretty good, and I can see it being suitable for a video project, or what have you. But having ‘OK’ tracks just wasn’t cutting it. The problem is, this field of work is getting more and more competitive. In order to make it, you have to get really good at your craft. And once you’ve made it to the top, you realize that the bar has been raised even higher. And you start climbing again. Take a step back, look at the competition, ask yourself if you’re producing at that level. Find out what makes them different. (HINT: It’s probably NOT a piece of gear) Learn those skill sets, then put them to action. Its a constant education and re-education mindset. This also applies to other non-music related aspects of this field (external marketing, SEO, etc.)
This field is always changing. If you can’t adapt, then you’ll get left behind. That mindset has been helping me in my attempt to make this a sustainable career. I’m not there yet, but I’m still climbing!
Hope that helps! Stay strong!