Negotiating pay when I have been out of work after 16 years as a delivery driver

I have been out of work for 23 weeks and feel pressure to accept less. I also do not want to sell myself short. How do you research fairly?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 8 months ago, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.

Asking about the range for the role first worked for me. Some recruiters share it.