We were just talking about this recently. My proposal was to fly an upwind parallel to, but offset to the right of the runway so that the pilot, looking down, can see the runway and any departing traffic. Jets and some high-performance pistons can climb really steeply; on a longer runway they can get to pattern altitude before reaching the end of the runway. If you’re directly over the runway, you can’t see them; and they may not be expecting (or looking for) you.
But, as others have pointed out, gliders, helicopters and ultralights often fly right-hand traffic, so now you’re flying upwind on the same side where they’re flying downwind. The helicopters and ultralights should be at 500’ AGL but the gliders start their downwind at 1,000’.
And, as yet others have pointed out, the teardrop to the 45 has put me - and I’m sure many of us - nose-to-nose with aircraft that are either departing the pattern by turning crosswind and then 45 degrees left from there, or that are flying a wider than usual pattern.