ive asked a lot of questions recently so i feel the need to contribute
Something i learned when i was in that lonely state was that in my eyes you should DEFINATLY distinguish before even approaching someone whether or not you are just there to meet a new person (friend) or pickup (HB)
i say this because when i was in that depressive state i felt increadbly useless and lonly. I realised that I wanted both new friends and potential fucks. meaning i ended up trying to satisfy both needs at the same time which often ruined my chances on both sides of the coin
i beleive that while pua is an amazing thing, to feel good while doing it you need a strong friend base both male and female
this may not apply to all people, but...
---being able to have female friends and not having to worry about messing things up with them makes it easier when picking up
---this is because knowing that you are going to have people (female friends) that you are not going to lose makes me worry less about losing a potential HB and thus I an more relaxed around HBs ("if i lose this one oh well there are many more") often resulting in BETTER GAME!!!
hope this helps every stuck in a rut about this sort of thing
happy hunting !