A starter schedule that survives a work week
The problem was never the starter. It was that every schedule I found assumed I was at home at 14:00 on a Tuesday, which I am not.
What finally worked: feed at 1:4:4 on Friday evening, leave it on the counter overnight, mix Saturday morning. The larger feed slows it down enough that the peak lands somewhere around eight or nine hours later instead of four, which is the difference between a loaf and an excuse.
If the starter is ready before you are, the ratio is wrong, not the flour.
During the week it lives in the fridge and gets fed once, on Wednesday, mostly out of guilt. It has survived two holidays and one move.
The only thing I would change is the overnight bulk — at anything above about 22°C the dough is noticeably slack by morning and I end up shaping something closer to a batter. In summer it goes in the fridge after two hours.