flounder
/ˈflaʊndər/ verb [I]
MOVEMENT › to make wild movements with your arms or body, especially because you are trying not to sink
NOT KNOW › to not know what to do or say: When he resigned, the team was left floundering.
FAIL › If a relationship, organization, or plan flounders, it fails or begins to experience problems: By 1993 his marriage was floundering.