In that case, I would recommend trying a dedicated text editor to make changes instead. There isn't a priority on which one you use as long as it can download a live server plugin, which allows you to make changes to your site and preview them (works offline from my experience). Still have to copy the changes onto NC, but at least you can preview the changes instantly beforehand.
For the curious, the text editor I used was Atom and this is what the layout looks like (https://i.imgur.com/jGgl9SM.png). The theme is not the default theme, but it's close to the default layout
Depending on which editor you use, it's also totally possible to make updates to your site while offline (should not be confused to mean your Neocities site while offline). Atom has a live server package that does just this.
Yeah that adds up with my experiences. I also read your reply about an external editor, might give it a go, thanks for the suggestion!