Safari not loading or responding

I’m at my wits end having tried all the fixes on the web. I have a M1 MacBook with all the latest software.

Safari won’t load pages, but Chrome and Firefox will. I’ve cleared the caches and web browser history etc and reloaded latest version of Tahoe twice, with no effect. Moreover, the system start up is sluggish and frequently the internet won’t connect to the Mac, but works fine on other devices. I’m thinking of restoring the software from a Time Machine backup, but am apprehensive of adverse consequences.

Does anyone have any suggestions/advice please.

I'm in my 80’s so perhaps I’m missing stuff or grey matter!