@Tony Ramirez
The social foundation for Male/Female interactions has changed radically in the last 20-odd years.
The fastest changes have coincided with the widespread use of Smartphones.
(it's not exactly a simple cause/effect relationship, but it's not coincidence either).
Here's an interesting number for you (it's real, from a survey):
20% of Gen-Z think a man approaching a women in public is usually or always harassment.
And don't forget: Gen-Z are relatively enthusiastic about
reporting that kind of thing.
A lot of fools have been claiming men choosing not to approach women are scared/terrified, but this is obviously nonsense.
The odds of being accused of harassment plus the relatively extreme consequences make "cold approaching" an unwise choice. Not doing something with an obvious net negative result (probability of a bad outcome times the consequences of that bad outcome) is sensible.
It's an example of a lot of the choices people make every day, like waiting until your food/drink is cool enough that you won't burn your mouth. That decision certainly isn't due to terror, and it's a big stretch to call it fear.
We are literally "hard-wired" to avoid negative outcomes, for obvious reasons.
NB: This isn't the full picture of how and way the "dating market" is so messed up. For example dating apps have had a bad result too. And there's a
lot of other paradoxical stuff happening.
But it's a good indicator towards the reason some men aren't asking women out in some situations where, in the past, they might have done so.
In terms of what you yourself should consider: I think you've been given enough good advice lately to cover everything important.
