I’m still new enough I can’t make needle recommendations, but my first project was a garter stitch scarf. 10 stitches on size 13 needles… yeah… that wasn’t much of a scarf.
when my mom tried to teach me to cast on for knitting I went cross eyed.
Similar experience to you with learning how to crochet. Right now all I can do is a chain stitch. And nothing else. No adding any height to the chain, just making a single long chain.