Im pretty sure there is still some issue with one or more relays.

I had a similar situation last night, even after 1.00.3 update. I deleted lots of people at first from my list and it suddenly worked smoothly. I readded many of them already and it's still smooth. There must be something slowing/crashing whatsoever, most likely a relay (the more relays it tries to connect, the higher the chance to hit a borked one). Just my thoughts, nostr:nprofile1qqsyvrp9u6p0mfur9dfdru3d853tx9mdjuhkphxuxgfwmryja7zsvhqpz9mhxue69uhkummnw3ezuamfdejj7qgswaehxw309ahx7um5wghx6mmd9uq3wamnwvaz7tmkd96x7u3wdehhxarjxyhxxmmd9ukfdvuv