Use 2 pairs of Airpods Pro 2 with a single case

Over six months ago, I lost the case for my AirPods Pro 2 (Lightning version). I still have the AirPods themselves, but not the case. Eventually, I bought a completely new pair with the updated USB-C case. This left me with two pairs of AirPods Pro 2 but only one case.

For over half a year, I was able to use this single case with both pairs of AirPods without any issues. However, starting yesterday, this suddenly stopped working. The AirPods that weren’t in the case were no longer recognized, and I had to put them in the case and manually reset by holding the case’s button. Now, every time I switch AirPods, I have to go through this reset process, which is incredibly frustrating.

Is there any way to continue using both pairs without buying another case? (Because I’m not doing that—it’s way too expensive and not worth it.) It would be a shame if these perfectly functional AirPods (the older pair) had to become e-waste just because Apple decided "this is the way."