"I joined a casual sports team to be less lonely, and ended up feeling socially worse off for it." - You joined the wrong team/sport. Don't let that one experience damage you as a person. I challenge you to try again. There's a sport and team for everyone. It's sort of like dating. You need to find one that matches you and when you find it, it's awesome.

"For one, it's not an option for everyone, particularly the less able bodied". I was speaking in general that apply to the masses. You can't take every advice you hear and apply it blindly - you need some way to filter out all the advice in this world, including this one. I have strong opinions about this topic and feel free to reject it. This my part of offering my wisdom/experience and I hope it'll save people time and heartache. I'm not offering any guarantees though. Nothing is guaranteed!