one of my coworkers said something two days ago that kinda struck me and i havent been able to stop thinking about it, so i will apply it to ryland-
i absolutely adore all of the touch starved grace stuff. he has no other human around to touch him, and even if rocky could hug him, he would still be in a protective barrier- and to be honest? who knows if an eridian hug would simulate what a human physical touch could, because human skin is soft. rockys carapace is not.
i dont think ive seen anyone consider that grace doesnt like touching people. its uncomfortable and awkward for him and he never knows how long a hug is supposed to last or how long its normal to keep your hand on someones shoulder or just how to initiate physical contact in general. its a small constant point of anxiety in his day to day life, but its so normal and something you just cannot avoid on earth.
so when that small bit of anxiety is just not there on the hail mary and on erid- it could just be such a small little bit that makes him more comfortable. he doesnt even realize it probably, but not being uncomfortable and awkward any time someone physically interacts with him makes his life that much easier.
and dont get me wrong here- he would definitely be feeling the consequences of loneliness, especially before him and rocky meet- he definitely does want to be social to some degree, he wants someone to talk to or to have someone just there. hes missing the presence of other people, not the physical touch of other people.
so him finding rocky and having that constant presence of another person there, having someone just in the room with him, that would be enough for him.