You might as well be describing rural western Michigan where I live. There is little overt, public condemnation of LGBTQ people. (Well not unless you go to a school board meeting these days.) But there is a sort of tolerance, especially if queer folks keep mostly quiet. We're OK one-on-one in a sort of exotic sense sometimes, which is boring and tiring but better than hostility.

But that expectation of connection? Nah. So different from when I lived in Berlin, NYC, and Montreal and presumed most people I met might be close friend material. That just isn't how things work here, and it sounds like your experiences in Texas aren't much different.