Is there any hope to being in your mid-40's and still being a dateless virgin?

Looking for insight and input to get out this hole I'm in. I can't wait any longer. If I keep putting this off and 'waiting for my time to come', I'll be in my 60's having never lived a life without love.

I'm 45. I've been rejected hundreds of times even trying to get a first date in life. I'm a socially awkward outcast basically. Was fat when I was a kid, got obese in college and eventually morbidly obese after depression from endless rejection. I ended up ballooning to over 500lbs and I'm 6'6, I either scared or disgusted women.

A few years, for reasons all my own, I hit the gym and lost the weight, going down to a more manageable 260-280lbs (fluctuates depending on my diet and cardio) and gained alot of muscle. I like how I look, I think I look handsome but the damage is done. Decades of rejection and social exclusion have left their mark and women my age aren't as outgoing as they were 20 years ago. They are coming out of bad relationships, dealing with custody battles, rent troubles, existential life crises, etc. Basically, the rejections I'm getting now are way different than they were in the past, better honestly, but a rejection is still a rejection and I'm falling behind more and more everyday.

I don't care about an escort. Sex is ultimately not what I'm looking for. I'm looking for a connection, which leads to intimacy, which will eventually lead to sex. I'm confident with that but the first step is always the elusive one.