Alice->(5)Bob:message1
space -6
Alice(4)<-Bob:the other\nmessage
I don’t think diagonal arrows really help with this and will be harder to deal with because they could get overlapping really quickly.
But if things are truly out of sequence use something other than a sequence diagram. Just a regular flow chart, or activity diagram, or state diagram.
https://www.websequencediagrams.com/?lz=dGl0bGUgVW4AAwVkCgpB...
Premium version allows crossed messages: https://www.websequencediagrams.com/cgi-bin/cdraw?lz=dGl0bGU...
I have been using sequence diagrams a lot for embedded or real-time systems a lot last year, and travel time is important there.
Besides, it allows to have one diagram abstract from another, without modifying execution times.