It does take a lot of resilience to push through social events that you know you should enjoy, but anxiety gets in the way. And it is common to experience the conference by silently attending panels/looking at presentations and never interacting with anyone. The smaller qna panels is often where more natural connections happen, or at least more participation so it is a good environment to take that first step.
I also liked that you can go home, which is not seen as a failure but still as progress towards your bigger goal.