I'm also a Connie Willis fan, and would especially recommend her short story collections Impossible Things and Fire Watch. I'm not generally a big fan of short stories, but I love most of hers.

And seeing it all again, it came to me that they face the same problems over and over again - it is they are running circles

Yeah, I would agree. And a lot of it is interesting and entertaining, but it does seem like they run around in circles a lot with nothing to show for it.

then all that, but with the left big toe in each others’ ear… Yes, a disturbing image…

Very disturbing.