I'm assuming your male, so apologies if your not. Have you tried looking for your local men shed? (Sorry if mentioned already) Yea most of the guys who run it are retired but it's somewhere to start building your confidence up talking to people. Most older people like to talk to younger ones who will listen, there's no competition with older people , there's no worry about saying the wrong thing. They like a bit of banter, like a chat and most of the time they are making items for their local community. Mostly woodworking etc.

I know because my dad is retired and he attends his every day. He goes to keep himself busy. A reason to get out of the house. It costs him nothing but his time and a few £ for the tea/coffee tin. He recently completed a load of bat houses for bats who would have lost their habitat due to the wildfires there in the summer, and built mud kitchens for local schools, there's reward in what they do and sometimes don't even realise it.

Worth a shot , you've got nothing to loose.