Great post, Peter. Really sorry to hear about this because it was already pretty bad for cyclists pre-pandemic. I think that the insight around the widespread disruption of life for most and deep suffering for others is quite profound. When you juxtapose your previous experiences with angry drivers against more current ones, it would be easy to simply say there has been a sudden influx of assholes. But to point to something more systemic is the right way to think about this. While I've spent less time doing recreational riding since moving from LA to SLC, I still do a daily commute downtown on my bike. My commute is about 6x as long, yet my encounters with angry drivers is negligible. In Santa Monica, it was daily. I'm not sure of the rationale, but perhaps it has to do with population density and the fact that LA is notorious for its "car culture" where cyclists are generally seen as a hinderance. I still have regular close calls with absent minded drivers, but they seem more apologetic than anything, and I'm the one who gets angry. I've been trying to adopt the mindset of your post topic; that people are just having a really hard time right now and aren't bad or out to get me. I actually mentioned that exact scenario in this podcast: https://www.spark6.com/podcast-episodes/mini-1

Stay safe out there!