Comment by overfeed

> Try your best to talk to people. Having a shared hobby/interest makes for easy conversation and ice breakers.

Unfortunately for OP, they have a distaste for small talk, and yet small talk is the launchpad for any potential conversation partner.

Small talk is the lubricant for all social interactions and provides a safe, shallow harbor where people can get to know each other before heading out to deeper waters that require more earned trust. People actively reject small talk come across as socially awkward, uninterested, or both.