slow and unresponsive MacBook pro

Hi Horrace77,

If you've been running your MacBook for a while (a few years) it will likely become slower as time goes by as with most computers.

What year is the MacBook that you're having the slowness issues with?

I'd suggest you try re-installing the MacOS system on the machine, so that it's running a fresh install of the operating system.

Before going ahead with wiping your drive and re-installing the OS. Please ensure that you've backed up all of your files first (ie. using Time Machine, iCloud Drive, OneDrive, Google Drive, external hard drive\usb drive etc.)

Then re-install the MacOS system on the machine. You could try following the instructions from https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT204904

Once the MacOS system has been re-installed on your MacBook, you can then select to restore your files from your Time Machine backup or manually copy your files from another backup source that you have chosen to use.

Hope the advise helps.

Try a Safe Boot.

If the Safe Boot does not fix the issue you can post an Etrecheck Report.

Using EtreCheck - Apple Community

Reinstalling the operating system as a first step in troubleshooting a slow computer is kind of drastic. The best approach to troubleshooting is to try the simple things first. I would save the "reinstall the operating system" task to a last resort step.