Did some digging and found a sailing school that I haven't asked about classes (yet) https://www.spinnaker-sailing.com
There's even a school that offers boatbuilding lessons in Sausalito -- a bit too far/much of a time commitment for me! https://www.spauldingcenter.org/current-offerings
Take enough of a learn to sail class that you understand the basic theory —- I took one at my local yacht club.
Then, find a racing fleet! Racing boats need crew weight to help the boat sail towards the wind (so you can be useful while you are still learning), and not all the jobs require as much sailing knowledge as others (my first job was to pull the free end of the line while someone was winching in the sail).
Skippers value consistency —- the boat can’t race without a crew, so literally just reliably showing up is a valuable thing.
The fact that his parents were math and literature professors who entertained him dropping out of school to write poetry. If I had done that my parents would have offered me exactly three choices, get a job, go back to school, or pack your bags and pay your own rent which would have forced me to get a job, understandably so because as working class people they didn't have the resources to sponsor me for another decade while I go soul searching