Is this subset of matrices contractible inside the space of non-conformal matrices?

Edited. In the first version of the answer I was assuming that the space in which the contraction was taking place was not $\cal NC$ but the complement to non-conformal matrices in $SL(2,\mathbb R)$. I'll suggest a fix for this now.

Note, that we have a natural continuous map $u: {\cal NC}\to S^1=\mathbb RP^1$. Namely, to each matrix $A$ from ${\cal NC}$ we can associate the following one-dimensional subspace $u(A)\in \mathbb R^2$. Take the matrix $AA^{*}$ and take the eigenspace corresponding to the maximal eigenvalue of $AA^*$ (there will be two distinct eigenvalues since $A$ is not conformal).

So, if we find a closed path $\gamma$ in $\cal F$, such that its image $u(\gamma)\subset S^1$ is not contractible, we are done. How to find such a path is explained in the previous answer to this question, which the path $\gamma(t)$ constructed in the previous answer below. ( I believe that what I suggest works for several reasons but I don't have time to work out all the details now. By the way, it is also funny that $\pi_1(\cal NC)$ seem to be equal $\mathbb Z^2$, moreover it deformation retracts to $T^2$, I believe.)

Previous answer.

It is not contractible. Let us associate to each matrix $A\in SL_2(\mathbb R)$ the following vector $v(A)$. Take an orthogonal matrix $O\in SO_2(\mathbb R)$ such that $OA(e_1)$ is proportional to $e_1$ with a positive coefficient. Then set $v(A)=OA(e_2)$. We get a map to the upper half plane: $$V:SL(2,\mathbb R)\to \{y>0\}$$

Note that the image of confromal matrices is the point $(0,1)$, and the image of any component $\cal F$ is the complement to $(0,1)$. And so each component can be identified with this puncutred half-plane. Hence it is enough to construct a path in $\cal F$ whose image under $V$ is not contractible in $\{y>0\}\setminus \{(0,1)\}$. This is easy, just take a non-contractible path $\gamma(t)\subset \{y>0\}\setminus \{(0,1)\}$ (that has a non-zero winding number around $(0,1)$), and consider the unique path of matrices $A_t\subset \cal F$ such that $A_t(e_2)=\gamma(t)$.