Hey everyone!
First post so go easy on me lol.

The problem: The steering wheel is stuck facing forward.

2001 with ~120k miles. I've been driving the car without eps for a year and haven't had any problems until about a month ago the steering wheel was stuck facing forward with a little bit of play in either direction.
I was able to somehow get it to turn normally through just fiddling with the key and steering wheel and drove on it fine until recently it happened again and now I cant get it to work. The key and ignition all turn and operate completely normally and the car starts fine, but the steering wheel has been locked straight.
Initially, I thought it might be the steering wheel lock, but I was under the impression the wheel is supposed to only lock 45° to the left or right.

I guess it could possibly be the rack itself given the extra strain without power steering.

The EPS light has been on and is still on since me driving without eps a year ago, so why is the car locked up now and never before?

Now I'm stuck, frustrated, and don't know what to do. Anything in specific I should check for?

Thanks for any guidance.