Safe Mode disables all 3rd party software so you have something installed that's interfering with the Dock.
Download and run Etrecheck. Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC and recommended by Apple Support to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.
Copy the report
and use the Add Text button to include the report in your reply. How to use the Add Text Feature When Posting Large Amounts of Text, i.e. an Etrecheck Report
Before running Etrecheck assign Full Disk Access to Etrecheck so that it can get additional information from the Console and log files for the report:
Then we can examine the report and see if we can determine what's causing the problem.