Gadol > These sad individuals typically were angry underachievers prior to Covid and now have a “new” issue to to grab
Not in my observation. Many were for me fellow daveners, who did not exhibit more psychological problems than others, while consuming cholent. Maybe it is just because I did not know them well enough. Most people whom I considered in high regard behaved reasonably. There is also a category, similar to what you describe, generally people you can share cholent with who might gripe about something unreasonably, but not considered danger to people around them. I encountered one at a simcha, where there was a specific request to only have vaccinated people (due to a medical condition of the baalas simcha, that many might not have known about) – that, at the time, meant no children. Hundreds of people followed the request, while generally not adhering to any precautions, including ambushing the lady who was trying to avoid that. Then, I see a family with a kid. After consulting baalas simcha, I kindly informed them, thinking they can take the kid home 10 minutes away and not miss anything. They angrily replied – we did not notice that on the invite and moved hurriedly towards the buffet.