I got a BS in applied math & cs in 2020, then got laid off from my IT job due to a pandemic budget cut. After 6 months of not being able to find a job, I decided to try something new and applied to grad programs in English Lit, and, to my surprise, got accepted to my first choice school. Fast-forward to the end of my 1st semester of grad school: the teaching load is brutal, I'm broke, and my physical & mental health have gotten so bad that I decide to take a semester off. A few months after that, I'm dreading going back so much that I drop out for good.
I've been searching for a job where I can use my degree since then, but I've gotten only 1 interview and no offers. I worry that what's grown to be a 2-year gap in my resume is an automatic rejection from most employers, and all I have to show from that time is 1 semester of coursework from a literature degree.
How can I explain (on my resume or in a cover letter) my unfinished humanities grad degree to employers in technical fields?
Edit: other questions addressing unfinished degrees mostly address unfinished undergrad degrees, and I've also seen some that address unfinished graduate degrees in the asker's own field. I wanted to ask about an unfinished grad degree that would seem completely irrelevant to most employers.