Why is it hard for Scorpio ascendants to make friends?

...despite the fact that they desperately want to have a lot of people in their lives?

To put it simply, Scorpios come off as weird. This is especially true, if you're a Scorpio Rising, Ascendant signs represents the First Impressions we have of each other . Scorpio energy is generally unapproachable due to various factors including intimidation, and aloftness. Only someone with an open or like-mind tends to give Scorpio a chance this especially the younger Scorpio who tends to or come across as a loner due to their tendency to observe and/or analyze.