Applied at prestigious university for Unknown

I’ve been on quite the journey with my job search, applying to over 2000 positions and going through numerous interviews. Recently, I reached the final stages for a role I'm really excited about at a prestigious university. After my last round of interviews, which I felt went well, they asked for references almost immediately. I complied right away, but now I'm feeling stressed about the reference check process. Out of my three former employers, two responded, but the last one has been unresponsive despite my previous good relationship with them. I even reached out directly, but they ghosted me. The one who did reply said they couldn't provide a reference and directed the hiring team to HR instead. I emailed the hiring team to see if that would suffice, but it’s been a week without a response, and it’s really stressing me out. It’s been over two weeks since they initially contacted my references, and I can’t shake the feeling that my chances for this role are slipping away due to circumstances beyond my control. I’ve been in this position before, making it to the final rounds only to be disappointed, and the waiting is taking a toll on my nerves. Has anyone else faced a similar situation with references? How did you handle it? I could really use some advice on how to cope with this waiting game.