Honestly, I think the best advice I can give you is have fun with the game.
Yes, there are super good players and AIs that can destroy them too. Rating systems are all over the place–someone’s 800 is someone else’s 1200–the population can vary wildly. Playing someone wildly different from you in skill can be educational, but it’s not much fun on its own.
I find chess to be fun because of the tactics. I generally don’t play ‘gotcha’ sorts of tricks, but being able to win a game because you’ve outwitted your opponent is a blast; meanwhile I don’t feel a lot of guilt or shame for losing a match either.
I’m not a huge fan of memorizing openings or doing a lot of deep analysis, and I’m not a professional player, but getting a decent game is mostly practice. Play chess puzzles, they really help your tactical skill–I think that’s my major edge. At my level of play (1400ish on Chess) I generally am outmatched on well practiced opening players–until they fall out of their opening book.
Block poor sports and people you don’t enjoy playing against, and play more chess to improve.