Connections don't have to be people you meet & interact with physically. Many of the people I work with I've either never met, or only meet every couple of years on an international flight to the other side of the world.
Try reaching out to people on HN, email them with a specific question about how they achieved something that you're interested in & that they've done. I've been trying some of that recently and had a ridiculously high response rate (100% so far.) It might not turn into a "connection", but you'll probably learn something in the meantime. Expect that maybe only 1 out of 100 people you contact will actually turn into a "connection".
Try reaching out to people on HN, email them with a specific question about how they achieved something that you're interested in & that they've done. I've been trying some of that recently and had a ridiculously high response rate (100% so far.) It might not turn into a "connection", but you'll probably learn something in the meantime. Expect that maybe only 1 out of 100 people you contact will actually turn into a "connection".