No-one said being a Baha'i was easy. Secondly, you hade at least one thing in common - a love for Baha'u'llah. To me religion is very private. It IS very private. It is between us and God.
Religion is in our hearts.
When we have assurance in our hearts, then we can start opening up in public. There is room in the Faith for all types, including those who would be private in their observance of it. There is no obligation to attend either, though I would give my eye teeth to be able to attend a few deepenings. One reason they are strangers is, maybe, that you did not give yourself time to get to know them, or more importantly, for them to get to know you. Also, some well-established communities find it difficult to accept new members.