Is it safe to drive when my steering wheel suddenly has less resistance?*

*To explain better, my steering wheel suddenly started requiring me to turn it about 2 to 3 full rotations before stiffening when the front wheels are completely angled to one side (so 4 to 6 rotations to turn all the way left from all the way right).

It means I’m having to spin the wheel quite a lot more to make turns that would normally require a 90° rotation or so. This started happening when I was out, no warning light or noise or anything.

I practiced in a parking lot for a bit to get used to the new ratio between the steering wheel and front wheel angle before driving back to my apartment. I found it to be perfectly manageable, just something that defied my muscle memory.

I will need to get it serviced soon, but I have an hour long drive home on the highway today for spring break. I feel confident I can drive home with my steering wheel like this, but I want to check and make sure this sounds like something minor and not a sign that it’s going to suddenly snap off or explode or something.