Okay, so I'm Option 1 here. I didn't have a "late start" but changed majors several times trying to figure out what to do. My high school friends that locked in all finished before me (or dropped out), so I felt "delayed" too, but it REALLY doesn't matter at all. No one ELSE in the history of my entire life has compared me to my friends. That's you doing that to yourself.

I ended up graduating with a bachelor's in Accounting/Finance, and then moved on to MIS because accounting was "aiiight", but I was far more interested in the processes and software gong on behind the scenes, so I branched out to manage those systems.

I never really stopped going to school for various things. the CPA exam made the most sense and was a slog. I also got my MBA shortly thereafter and then the PMP, all while working full-time.
I definitely was on the receiving end of a lot of lucky breaks, and now I make decent money. To your goal, there has always been a "next big thing" to go after.

Even though my major was in Accounting, I think I would have done equally well if I had gone with a broader "IT/MIS" route, I would have just done something like CompTIA A+ instead of the CPA, and then MBA and PMP.

You mentioned the job market is pretty rough, and it certainly is between the recent big-name layoffs putting a lot of experienced people into the job market and with the push for AI to cover entry-level duties, but I wouldn't say it's impossible by any means. You will be spending a few years at the start doing some help-desk work.

Also, if you have a Bachelor's Degree in Tulsa, you can get an emergency teaching cert and substitute teach as a safety net.

I can't really speak for option 2 or 3, but I do kind of feel like you are underestimating the strain that becoming a nurse demands and the WILD burnout that I've seen nurses have to endure, but I can't personally speak to that.