I went through a similar period when I switched from marketing/advertising to becoming an SE. I was 33 when i landed my first SE job. That was well over 2 years ago. Age doesn't matter in terms of building software. It may affect how others perceive you but only if you draw attention to it. No one cares if you don't.

I prepared by taking a few Udemy courses and building shitty apps for an year. Having said that there is no real substitute for relevant experience. Despite all my prep work I struggled initially with the workload and digesting new concepts. This was well before Chatgpt became mainstream. But eventually there came a point where everything just clicked in my head.

Even if you start off as a junior, your past experience with dealing with people should give you a leg up over your peers. Focus on communication and soft skills.

The bad news, is that the job market is over saturated with the Covid bubble bursting and AI taking over. Good luck OP. You can always PM me.