You don't need to have close friends in this industry just to move on or keep going. If you can't find one then you have to find near your local if there are people that shares the same interest as you. Because if that's what has stopped you, then it's also fine and people have to respect that decision for yourself.
Having friends in the local scene is really helping. I'm not denying the fact that if you do something, you can find people who share the same interests as you. I guess I didn't try enough in order to find people (yes, your post actually made me rethink my process).
Think of it because that's what I've done before and luckily, I've found few that shared the same interest as mine. They're now real life friends and also my real life friends who are not yet into crypto, when I've talked to them, they're now in. So, it's the other way round and depending on how we make conversations with them. While there's also danger into this like getting attacked with a $5 wrench. You should also take note of that so, find people and at the same time, be cautious with how you talk to them and don't flaunt that much of your assets but only stick to the topic of being enthusiastic with crypto or web3 or any other topics.
Recently I'm looking for local developers who worked on different blockchain projects. This is going to be something I believe.