Older man I'm seeing seems very interested in person but distant otherwise

I (22F) met a man (48M) a few months ago.

From the beginning, there has been a very strong mutual connection. When we see each other, it is obvious that we are both happy to be there. We talk for hours, often until a place closes, he seems genuinely excited to see me, and over time he has become less concerned about other people noticing us. He is affectionate in small ways (for example, initiating hugs), but he is also very cautious with physical closeness. Like me, he's probably neurodivergent and has social anxiety.

But we only see each other about once a month. Most of the time I am the one initiating plans. He does respond and agrees to meet, but sometimes it takes him several days to answer. He says he barely uses his phone, dislikes having it around, and prefers to disconnect from it. I believe that this is partly true, but the result is still that building something with him feels very slow and uncertain.

I have started wondering why he keeps so much distance. There are several possibilities I can think of:

• He may simply be very slow with intimacy and relationships after being single for a long time.

• He may be socially anxious or insecure and struggle with initiating contact.

• He may like me but have a very low need for frequent contact.

• He may be unsure where this is going and is keeping things at a cautious pace.

• Or, more negatively, he may not be interested enough and is waiting for me to lose interest.

I don’t think he is only looking for something physical. He is actually quite reserved about physical intimacy, and our connection so far has mostly been emotional. At the same time, our living situations (I live with other students, he lives with his mom....) make privacy difficult, so I have wondered whether the lack of opportunities for intimacy could also be affecting how he approaches this.

I don’t need him to suddenly become someone who texts all day or to rush into a relationship. I am currently preparing for my law exams and don’t have unlimited emotional capacity either. But I do need some clarity and some sense that we are actually moving forward.

I’m planning to talk to him about it the next time we meet.

Does this sound like someone who is interested but slow/insecure, or am I interpreting too much into a situation where his interest may simply not be strong enough?

I know, no one but he can give a definite answer to this. Maybe Someone here can give me some input in this situation...