Most important tip: Know where you parked. I did aquabikes last year (swim, bike…stop), so I sat in transition and watched people coming in off the bike. I’d say 1 in 4 had no clue where their rack spot was. They wander aimlessly with a panicked deer-in-the-headlights look, whipping their heads about as if their transition towel will suddenly leap from the ground and wave at them. Pick a stationary object - tree, portajohn etc that is easy to spot; walk/jog the swim finish to transition and bike finish to transition pre-race so you could do it blindfolded. Put a bright towel or easily spot-able object at your area, or have your Sherpa stand adjacent to it outside of transition so they can yell, “Hey!!! Dumba$$, over here”. This will knock hours off your time.
I always had my kids do this before the race 3 times to half a dozen times. First of all, it gives them a way to expend nervous energy. Second, it’s not a bad way to warm up the muscles. Third, as you say, it helps put that rack location in muscle memory and conscious memory.
Some rack locations are just harder to remember. Rack runs previous to the race help sus out these problems so you can select the most helpful visual cues ahead of time.
We tried using chalk to mark the ground. I guess that was effective but it’s probably not a good idea to depend on that.
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Don’t do it like Brownlee in Canada. Ride over the line you’re supposed to dismount before.