Yooo I'm actually running up on my 10 year too at my job. When the Pandemic hit and everyone was sent home I was one of the first to be called back.I was super salty about it since like there was no one else in the office and a voicemail saying no one is in would have been just as efficient as me telling the 1 or 2 folks that called the same thing :V. The extra bit I was able to get during the Pandemic went to debt to :V. I didn't get as much done art-wise as I wanted in my downtime, but I did do a lot of writing.
Having your art be what keeps you afloat in the world would be baller and for anyone that can do it and has a plan to do it and the proper support, I say go for it! For me, in all honesty, I've never really thought I'd be able to quit having a day job to make art all day (not unless I married into BIG money since even decent money would make me feel I need to be bringing cash so I don't burden my partner) until retirement. I need comprehensive medical insurance big time with my medical history and trying to get insurance that's as in-depth and not company sponsored is a nightmare here in the USA. So finding a job I can do that doesn't stress me out mad crazy, has nothing to take home at the end of the day, self-motivated without a ton of micromanaging, and ok pay (could defo be better) is the best deal I could ask for in this societal setup (would be better if it had wifi but I digress haha).
I have no interest in climbing the corporate leader, but I also don't take kindly to being given a ton of extra duties just because I can do them since the job defo won't wanna pay extra for them and I have made folks feel awkward when calling them out on that ish at work. I think the hardest thing for me to get over was having other folks tell me I'm wasting my potential by not working a more high-profile job, but like after my near-death encounter, it helped me get over that and see what really matters to me. Like I just wanna enjoy the folks I love and make art and comics and tell stories.
Yeah a battery charge is amazing. Every time I have been let go from a job or left, I always give myself a few months in between to recoup and recharge and learn something new or do something I care about before jumping back into work. It's really fantastic!
You have an outline of a plan though for getting yourself to the place you want to be, so that's pretty baller and more than a lot of folks. I really hope you are able to at least get a break before then though. At times like this I start thinking about working for a school system as much as I don't wanna work with kids again (they aren't super terrible or anything, but managing parents is a nightmare) but the breaks are chefs kiss.