I played sax a long time ago... well I tried for a while.
Cool story of yours, thanks for posting. The GF bit made me smile. My most recent experience akin to busking was being stuck in Cuba with no funds (xmas 2019), due to things outside my control.
But I’d already developed solo salsa freestyle routines for fitness and can’t stop myself dancing in the presence of live salsa bands, which Cuba was full of, and quickly got drawn into becoming part of a band, complementing their act, playing clave a little, dancing a little, sharing a little of the benefits. It kept me going for the time needed to organise the funds needed to get home.
I was 56 then. It is never too late to resort to music when all else fails I think, and it cuts across all cultures, which is also great.

I trust things will be easier for everyone very soon.