T14 + federal clerkships but no prior BigLaw — what should I be doing in this recruiting market?

Looking for advice from people familiar with current post-clerkship BigLaw hiring.

I graduated from a T14 with pretty middle-of-the-road grades (mostly B/B+). I had not originally intended to pursue BigLaw, but my financial situation changed and I decided relatively late in 1L that it was the path I needed to pursue. By that point, I was late to the recruiting game and went through OCI with relatively little success, likely due to some combination of timing and my grades. I ultimately summered at a midsized firm both 1L and 2L summer rather than a traditional BigLaw firm.

I was fortunate to land a district court clerkship in the Northern District of Georgia immediately after law school. I also have a Fourth Circuit clerkship lined up for the 2028–29 term, which leaves a year in between the two clerkships. My preference would be to spend that year at a BigLaw firm doing litigation and, ideally, return to that firm after completing the COA clerkship. Long term, I hope to practice in New York (as most of my family is there).

What concerns me is the post-clerkship recruiting landscape seems to have changed recently. It seems like firms are increasingly prioritizing clerks who already summered with them, and that a federal clerkship by itself may not provide the entry point it once did.

So, four questions:

1. For someone from a T14, mostly B/B+ grades, no prior BigLaw experience, and federal district + COA clerkships, how realistic is breaking into BigLaw in the current market? How much do the clerkships actually help overcome the grades and lack of a BigLaw summer?
2. What should I be doing now to recruit for the year between clerkships, particularly if I ultimately want to practice in NY?
3. Should I disclose the 2028–29 Fourth Circuit clerkship upfront when applying for the gap year? I could see it strengthening my candidacy, but I could also see firms immediately passing because they know I have to leave after a year.
4. Should I prioritize getting a year of actual practice experience, or try to fill the gap with another clerkship if BigLaw doesn't work out? My concern with stacking another clerkship is that I could eventually be recruiting as a fourth-year (or close to it) with multiple clerkships but essentially no substantive private practice experience.

My instinct is that, given that I already have clerkship credentials but no BigLaw experience, getting a year of actual firm experience and establishing a relationship with a firm I could return to after the COA clerkship would be more valuable. But I'm not sure whether I'm thinking about the market correctly.

Would particularly appreciate perspectives from current/former federal clerks, people involved in firm hiring, or anyone who broke into BigLaw after missing the traditional summer-associate pipeline.