Glad you made it out here to SF! And there should be no shame in being afraid of flying. I've always hated it, myself. The last time I flew was in 2018, and I'm not eager to fly again anytime soon. Especially because, being trans, the TSA has made the ordeal of air travel even worse:

https://funcrunch.medium.com/security-theater-in-pink-and-blue-cb7c16c6f74a