The main thing that seems to set back "late bloomers" in interviews is motivation. There's nothing wrong with having the realisation you want to be a pilot later on in life.
But when compared with the kiddies who havent thought about much else in their two decades on this planet, who have had the time and the parents to pursue a ppl and their university air squadrons and what not, older folks can struggle to compare.
So focus on what you have done to pursue an interest. Doesn't need to be an excessive amount of hours, you just need to prove initiative and passion and that you're taking this seriously (meetings, exhibitions, research,etc). Otherwise you may come across as someone who just hates their current job and is looking for any way out.
And you better put your insecurities to rest now. The average age on self respecting cadet schemes these days is much higher than those where the main requirement seems to be that you have £100k+ to gamble. These airlines value maturity and life experience so bring this to the interview table and you will have an advantage over the nippers who know nothing of the real world and have never had a conversation with anyone over 30.
As for education, if your qualifications werent up to scratch you wouldn't have made it this far.
So man up, start prepping at least 2hrs a day, get in there and nail it!!