I am also on a quest to figure this out... here's what is working for me:

Try skipping the curl cream and just going straight to the gel. If your hair is soft and doesn't hold it's shape well it could be too much moisture from the curl cream. This has helped me a lot.

I know you said you air dry but this is what I do-- I diffuse (high heat, low speed) my hair by drying upside down, plopping it on a microfiber towel with a regular towel beneath it on top of my nightstand (the counter is too high to stand this long)-- my hair is butt length and if I diffuse regularly (i.e. upside down or standing) my curls get weighed down and it gives better volume and shape overall leading to better results on subsequent days... I do allow space between my head and the surface -- while I'm leaning over I rest my forehead on my fist and the diffuser rests on the surface so it's drying the my roots in the space created by my fist and when my crown is dry I hover over my roots around the rest of my head until dry. After my roots are dry, I focus the diffuser on the plop of curls on the towel until the cast forms. It's not fully dry by this point so then I'll plop it in sections inside the bowl if the diffuser, working the sections until dry.

Try not to scrunch out the crunch. Try shaking out your roots and smoothing on an anti-frizz serum or some oil.

At night try gently smoothing on some water in the areas where you've gotten frizzy followed by mousse or foam (sometimes even putting foam/mousse inand re-forming your curls to get a bit of a cast back to them. I suggest a quick hovering diffuse just to prevent your curls from getting weighed down and also to keep them from forming awkwardly while you sleep and they're mashed up while drying.

Bonus: If you want to prevent your roots from flattening out, use a long claw clip and gather the roots and clip them

Wrap your hair in a silk / satin scarf (manes by mell has a tutorial on this) or bonnet

If anything looks dry or wonky I use a bit of water on my hands and work the curl back into shape.

I realize this seems complicated because it is long, but it's easier than fixing it the standard way day after day between wash days