Question

Are steric strain, van der Waals strain, and van der Waals repulsion the same?

Answer 1

Quick answer, `color(blue)("yes")`.

Explanation:

If you search online for definitions of the terms, you find the following:

Steric strain is the increase in potential energy of a molecule due to repulsion between electrons in atoms that are not directly bonded to each other.
http://science.uvu.edu/ochem/index.php/alphabetical/s-t/steric-strain/

van der Waals strain is strain resulting from van der Waals repulsion when two substituents in a molecule approach each other with a distance less than the sum of their van der Waals radii. Van der Waals strain is also called van der Waals repulsion … One of the most common forms of this strain is eclipsing hydrogen in alkanes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_der_Waals_strain

To mind, the three terms are interchangeable.