18 months sober and im realising how much of my LS confidence was actually 3 glasses of wine, who else is doing this

tldr getting sober is changing the LS for me and i need to talk to ppl who get it. im 44, hubby 46, married 17 yrs, in the LS 8 yrs, just outside cork. ive been sober 18 months in june. wasnt rock bottom drinking but it was getting heavy, gp had a chat with me, did some bloods, suggested an aud-type conversation, i did one of those online courses, joined a non-aa support group, and havent had a drink since. best decision of my adult life full stop. sleep is back. anxiety baseline is down. ive lost some weight which is nice. mood is steadier. my marriage is somehow better. all the things they say. BUT. the LS. lol the LS. i did not realise — and i mean genuinely did not realise — how much of my "im so up for this" energy at clubs and meets was 3 large glasses of malbec talking. like i had a whole social personality at LS events that turned out to require chemical support. without it i am a much quieter, much more observant, much more cautious version of myself. i hold back more. i flirt less. i notice when someone is being slightly off in a way the wine would have papered over. i need way more recovery time after a night. the morning after, when everyone is making bacon sandwiches and laughing, im polite but ready to be home. the physical part of the LS has been totally fine sober actually. sex sober is better. CONNECTION sober is harder. i used to be effortlessly chatty with new ppl and now i have to actually want to talk to them which means i talk to fewer ppl which means we have fewer meets. our LS volume has dropped a lot. some of our regulars have noticed and asked if everything is ok. one couple asked if we were "still into it" which made me laugh. so. is anyone else navigating LS sober. did u find ur footing eventually as a sober person in scenes that revolve around drinks and parties. is the answer "find the small percentage of sober LS ppl and build a different kind of social circle" or do u just learn to do clubs at a different intensity. and how do u explain to long term LS friends that ur not less into them, u just lost ur conversational training wheels and ur figuring out what u actually want in a room when ur fully present