>People who went through school in COVID ended up like this by no fault of their own. You probably could have avoided the situation of you had tried.
That's a convenient lie you're telling yourself, and you know it. Most people your age didn't end up like you, and the majority of people who did end up like you managed to do so without COVID (and have done for a long time)

I could easily blame my situation on the mass adoption of social media/smartphones, the recession, etc. (and many have done), but ultimately it boiled down to me being a (then undiagnosed) autistic who - whether it was down to a lack of support/understanding or personal failures - fell into severe depression, anxiety, and agoraphobia, and became a shut-in NEET for most of the next 15 years

You'll probably be the same if you can't get it together, and the COVID excuse will look more and more stupid as that period of your life becomes a smaller and smaller part of your history