I don’t know if this will help you much, but one of my autism masking strategies has been to pre-script responses to common social anxiety triggers. I’m not saying you’re autistic, of course—just that our anxieties about socializing may intersect here.

I’ll lay out my script for this specific question to give you an idea of what I mean:

1. I try to break the initial tension with a joke answer. Currently I’m pretty fond of, “Well, I am a clergyman in The Church of the Flat Earth. You gotta go visit the Ice Wall on the edge some time!” In the past I’ve also used, “Dedicated Bigfoot paparazzi,” or, “Seven Eleven was an inside job.”

2. That usually gets a polite chuckle, and I walk it back with a, “But, seriously…” and then I introduce one of my actual current hobbies, but I choose one that’s the least weird. Right now, that’s painting miniatures. But I frame it in a semi-jokey way, as, “I paint lil army guys sometimes.”

3.0. Here the conversation forks. If they respond neutrally or positively, I’ll explain what exactly mini painting is. I’ll emphasize normie benefits, like how relaxing it is, and how it’s really gratifying to produce a piece of unique art so quickly. Or how 3D printing at the public library has made it so much more affordable, because it used to be a rich nerd hobby thanks to Games Workshop’s virtual monopoly on the space.

3.1. They react negatively, or generally radiate rancid vibes. I drop a self-deprecating, “Yeah, it’s REALLY nerdy.” then pivot to the most normie normie hobby I have thst ever normied: my pets. Depending on the person, I’ll either emphasize how fun it is to wrassle with my dog and see what kind of stupid tricks I can make him do, or how adorable my cats are and how I can watch them be little weirdos every day.

4.0. From here I can usually pivot to a different topic. I typically turn it back on them (“What do YOU do for fun?”) so I can stop talking and regroup. Conversation successfully navigated.

4.1. Or, they’re still giving off rancid vibes, in which case I try to have a plausible reason to extricate myself from the conversation immediately. That’s going to vary by context. If all else fails, dig into your pocket, grab your phone, drop a, “Hang on a sec. I gotta deal with (insert thing here that applies to your life). I’ll be back in a bit.” and just bail. Chances are good at this point they’re a real piece of shit, and won’t voluntarily re-engage.

I know you didn’t ask for advice, but your situation resonated with my own experiences, and I thought it might be helpful to share.