I'm more or less in the same situation you are. I'm 5'7", balding (albeit very slowly, widow's peak) and 42.
I have never been much for chasing women or smashing poon, and I'm not a party animal. I also lost my interest in trying to date because most women are just not as fun. The only real difference between us that I can see is that my circle of friends is heavily skewed towards women and not men, this comes from my blue pilled, male feminist days. But those days are gone, and I went thru a red pill rage phase where I wasn't fit company for a woman.
I decided to live for myself at one point early in 2019. Hit the gym, have fun with friends and date casually as the options came, which were few. I've had far more lucky dating in my 40s than I ever did when I was younger.
I did recently find a woman who I have very much in common with, and we have an excellent relationship, but it pretty much came out of the blue. We had great chemistry as friends and a lot of common interests. The interesting side note is that she's a pretty staunch feminist. I generally hate feminism at this point, but for some reason, things just work between us because she's not some insane bigoted product of modern feminism.
The hard truths I see in you:
You are uncompromising: It is NOT possible to have a relationship with anyone if you aren't able to give up some measure of control and at least play along with a woman's likes and dislikes. It takes two to tango. Men and women cannot truly see eye to eye, you can either accept this or you can be alone. If she really likes you, she will make an effort to engage in the things that you like as well, but it's unrealistic and selfish to expect that a woman will bend completely your likes and let you do as you please. You have to pick and choose your battles. This isn't just true of women, it's true of life.
You have an agenda when it comes to women (and possibly all people): You are also expecting to get something out of a woman, some kind of fulfillment and/or social validation. You can't have this in a relationship and expect it to work. If you give of yourself and expect to get anything in return then you have the wrong mentality.
You might be egotistical: My outlook on life improved greatly when I started looking into Taoism, Stoicism and Buddhism as a way to understand how the universe works, and to stop being so self-centered. Don't expect to be able to share or explore these ideas with women.
And a suggestion: pick up dancing. it's a great way to get to know women intimately in a socially acceptable way.