I'd take a dead social battery in a crowd of people over a dead social battery in a small group of friends. No one in the crowd is going to care if I go silent but when I'm with my friends I feel bad for dropping out of the interaction.

I've literally been in that exact spot with that many people. Just walk ain't no one talking to you.

Social battery would run out of I had to talk to all of them but this is basically a liminal space where nothing is expected of you except to move along at the crowd speed.

Not if you choose your spot strategically close to escape routes

Skill issue. Moving past everyone is easy peasy lemon squeezy

Meltdown time :(