I came on this forum this morning with just this thought in my head, so I am glad to read what you wrote. When I lived in NYC I used to think it was the city atmosphere that made making friends hard. But now I have been all over the country and have found the same dynamic in many different places in AA. At the same time, I have been able to make some decent friendships with good people outside the rooms.
I think it is the nature of the condition, people with drinking problems have fears and insecurities and they can get in the way of forming healthy relationships. Yes, I bring my own issues and I do my best to work on them but in many ways the structure and dynamics of the recovery rooms can contribute to some serious dysfunctional behaviors and lots of avoidance of intimacy. These are just my thoughts and experiences, I have also wondered about the friendship hype as I have had many of the same experiences as you.