Something I've realized over time is that however good things get, what people really want is to have more than their neighbors rather than any particular quality of life. In many ways you can with a relatively basic job live far, far better than the richest kings could dream of a few hundred years ago. Something as simple as being able to eat strawberries in December was described as literal magic in fairy tales fairly recently. Nevertheless this does not satisfy that need for social prestige and they are profoundly unhappy as a result.

I don't think anything will fix or change this, definitely not UBI, the situation is a fundamental part of the human condition. I share your dread and fear that I will not be able to compete, even if my life improves by all other measures.

The one thing that would dramatically change my calculus is medical advances that significantly push back death and aging.