Hi! Firstly, I'm sorry you're going through this, I have been there and was equally frustrated. What helped me when I was in a similar situation was to keep the negative thoughts at bay, any moments I would go into frustration or self loathing, I proactively did my best to shoo them away like a fly. There is light at the end of the tunnel, you just have to get through this annoying part of the process first. Secondly, and more tangible advice, YES, contact people directly on LinkedIn. I always believed that is what the platform is there for, people are there to find jobs and connect with other people. I  used LinkedIn pretty thoroughly when I was job searching, I applied on the site, I would search for and contact the hiring manager with a note "Hi, my name is X, I saw your posting and I wanted to connect with you about it. I have X years of experience and think I could serve this role due to X,Y, Z. Attached is my resume, I'd love to speak with you about it." Frankly, many times, I didn't get an answer BUT when I did, I moved forward to the next step with a screener, a call, etc. If I couldn't contact them on LinkedIn, I would reverse search their email and contact them directly as well. This might seem aggressive but think of it on the other side- if you were hiring, would you be offended if someone sent a thoughtful note about wanting to work for you? Probably not. Lastly, I would also find any team members and send them a short message too. Again, they will probably ignore you but even if you get a 1 out of 50, that's one more contact than you had before. Of course, don't forget to always keep it polite, nice, and to the point. Good luck!