I'd say that your chances of "making it" are severely diminished unless you are willing to make big sacrifices both moral as well as financial. Disregarding the "but we're all equal regardless of our age" PC BS, in the real world a significantly less number of companies would want to invest in a 40+ year old rookie pilot than those which will do the same for candidates who are under 30. Just look into maximum age requirement of any sponsored ab-initio schemes in countries where age discrimination is not yet prohibited. Age factor is real and that's the ugly truth.
Now that we are straight with the situation it all comes down on how much you really want (or need) it. Is the pilot job something you see as a nice-to-have while riding towards the sunset but not that critical? Then doing some part-time side hustles (ground instructing, even flight instructing) might put you in an advantage when proverbial good times are back and you might see reasonable opportunities surface again. Big emphasis on might and your have to keep in mind that your options are decreasing with every passing year. If you feel the pilot job with a decent package by the time you retire is a must for you, then the two only options for somebody in your position are: slaving for the low-costers or p2f (pains to say, but yes) for a year or two. Either of those will give you big jet time NOW which is really what matters in the long run. Disregard all the talk about p2f being frowned upon during interviews, rare few give a flying monkey's in regards to how you've clocked your hours. But again that is provided you can afford it bot financially as well as socially.
Good luck!