Here's the thread, in case there is any hope the problem is here rather than in the rack.
https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...ring-play.html
As I remember and briefly noted in that thread, there was some play I could see down at where the steering column goes into the rack, but that turned out to be insignificant. Once I tightened the u-joint screws, things felt as tight as anything, and still are now at 203k miles.