I don't want to live for my job, and don't care about company social events or other events for professionals. I want to have a good, steady career without increasing my social activity for work as I get older. I'm a total homebody. Would rather watch TV and movies and do solitary hobbies when I'm at home, find my future partner online and have the rest work itself out.
Currently I'm unemployed but I still have an odd kind of optimism that cold applying will get me a job. Either I should work on my deficiencies, or work on my strengths and not worry about the "network" approach, which can be a better pick?
In general you should work on your strengths because those are the items that will stand out. But there are minimum knowledge requirements in other areas that can hold you back. Figure out what's holding you back from interview feedback cycle.
Being good at one specific thing makes it easier to get a job vs being a little bit good at everything. But it limits you.
The social stuff can be positive or negative. Not going to the christmas party is better than going getting drunk and offending someone. I stopped going to these things because little good can come out of them and a lot of bad. Risk management. In general it's safer not to interact much with others at work or voice political or religious opinions. I think these days your non-social approach might work out better.
Networking doesn't just mean seeking things out for your self interest, but IMO helping and serving others. Which can just be your small friend group. It can also just mean "doing your job really well" which is a big help.
Networking can mean that those in your network will actively seek you out to tell you about an opportunity. If you're actively helping others, reciprocity is somewhat natural human response
It's not really, IMO, about cold-calling a bunch of randos and asking for help. It's about building deep connections and helping others professionally. What goes around, comes around, often in positive and unexpected ways.
You might find volunteer work a way to ease into a more social way of life. This would not have to be full-on social. Food banks and community kitchens also need people to pick up supplies, wash dishes, and sweep floors.
Having said this, I currently work in place where we do not gather too often, actually we don't meet even once a year. All comms happen over slack/gmeet, with max. 1 meeting a day. I'm not extrovert so I like it that way, but other team members can sit on huddle for most of the day.
I recommend the 1964 book Games People Play, which should be available at any decent library (possibly from an inter-library transfer). If it isn't at a library near you, it has additionally been uploaded to libgen.
Most people will respect that and gain from a person who behaves that way even if they might resent staying on topic.
My biggest regret is that I didn't have a good enough skill.
By skill I meant hard, technical skills which I think appeal more to you.