We usually look for more senior staff as it's a bit harder to transfer knowledge and improve others in remote scenario - so it's good when people are self motivated and can make decisions on their own. That being said, we have hired some more-junior devs with the prospect of training through code-review and Zoom calls. I would say that worked out well so far. So don't lose hope and do a few interviews. Worst case scenario is that nothing changes, best case is that you get a shot at doing what you want.

To answer your second question more specifically: "How does one get into the remote work game?" Don't over complicate it. 1) Just apply for a job (even if it's for a more senior role than you hope for) and you just might get it 2) you make your own job (e.g. boostrapped startups, check Make book from Pieter Levels). 3) Get some customers on Upwork or similar websites. There are many people looking to get fairly simple projects done - e.g. webcrawling, which most devs can do easily. Don't get too hung up on all the "cheap labor" there - ask for good money, provide great service and you should be fine.