Dub, when you talk about the smarter timing to restart the quitting process, I think about how life got in the way of drinking for me. Everything else in the fridge was clutter and there needed to be the brown bottles in there. There needed to be enough time in the evening to experience my friend. Wanting to eat, getting thirsty for water or going to the restroom, having other things come up in life were all obstacles. I don't have the experience that you have, because I didn't really try in multiple bursts to stop drinking, except for years ago. My path was different, it just consisted of a long stretch of "safe drinking" by myself. I was single and drank because I was single and stayed single because I drank. I was extremely lucky I had the golden moment recently, and I don't have the first clue to tell you how I stopped.
Glad you are still interested in quitting and checking in with people here.