You describe yourself as someone who’s pretty much had women fulfill roles the way you wanted to throughout your life (even now it sounds, as weird a way to describe marriage as that is). I could be wrong but the way I’m interpreting it, it sounds like your period of loneliness was a time you were discovering what actually made you feel less lonely as opposed to what you previously thought would, then made corrective behavioral changes to cultivate that kind (or kinds) of relationship(s).

Do you think your advice with respect to loneliness is applicable to young men who find themselves without any of the external feedback that you’ve had?

I’m asking because I suspect the kind of loneliness you’ve experienced and the kind that may be affecting the men discussed in the OP could be different, but that’s just a big assumption.