The problem isn't time. Most men never learned to maintain friendships without a shared context like school or work holding it together. When that scaffolding disappears, so do the friendships.
only a few respond each time, and only about half the time one or two can make it out, but over time eventually all of them do
I can cut down a tree. But it's fun with friends.
I can do bad home renno but it's an in to keeping up with friends with a quick photo of the latest win/fail on signal /whatever floats your boat.
Because they're friends they might just say yes.
It's OK to ask them how they're going. Sometimes they will reply sometimes not and that's OK too.
The point of enlightenment is when you realise they never ask you that.
It helps to know who you are, what you want, and what you can do about it.