The time is now, but I'd like to suggest that you're looking at it through the wrong lens.
The way we do better is to tackle the problem at the root, which is voting reform. Voting reform breaks up the plurality. Breaking apart the plurality gives you more than two viable parties and forces those parties to caucus together. It also makes it harder for corporate lobbyists to support extremist parties and candidates. (i.e. if the Republican party was split into moderates and MAGA, it draws more attention when corporations support MAGA over moderates)
Here is my personal checklist that I use for elections at both the local and federal level:
Does one of the candidates support an effort to install someone into a seat of power for life? (directly or indirectly) That's worse than anything we have now, so that's a big no. We have to hold things together for the time being.
Does the candidate support alternative voting systems, such as ranked choice voting? Does their political record suggest that they aren't full of shit? Then they've got my vote.
#1 is a problem at both the state and federal level. #2 isn't realistically going to go anywhere at the federal level any time soon, but it's possible to move that needle at the state level. (see Alaska, where ranked choice voting has had a measurable impact on local elections)
tl;dr, have a long term political objective and vote consistently. The needle is not going to move fast. Play the long game, and don't let the media focus on federal elections distract you away from local elections. Voting reform has to start at the state level and grow outward from there, because most congress critters are there for the money.