Music stops on Airpods when using Apple Watch away from iphone

I've been running with my Apple Watch and Airpods for years. Recently, the music continues playing on the watch but not through the Airpods as soon as I'm 0.1 miles from home. Bluetooth on; airpods charged; Airpods are selected and connected to the watch. I'm frustrated because this setup has been working for many years. Airplay icon on watch (list of icons when I swipe up on the watch face) is BLUE but it is RED on the music app when I am playing a song. I can't get the airplay icon to change to blue on the song play/pause/rewind screen.