How do I make friends?

So I have very intense social anxiety, and I never really grew up with friends or anything. I genuinely cannot hold a conversation to save my life and struggle really badly with making eye contact with people.

I feel really desperate to connect with people cause I'm only getting older and more lonely, and it'll only get more difficult as I age, but my social skills are abysmal.

How do I begin to build up my social skills or begin making friends? I feel stuck, and interacting with people feels incredibly daunting.