They can be scary at first. Your AV is probably pooping itself that you might hear something there that will keep you sober for a start off.
It gets easier once you start to get to know people. Its no fifferent from first starting school, and i managed that. Or my first job, and i managed that. So i decided I'd keep at it. Sometimes we just have to lean into the fear and do stuff anyway. As alcoholics we're very fear driven, and that only stops when we make the decision that fear is just a feeling, and not an actual barrier.