To make me feel better, just answer this question. Is it okay to have a low ELO if your skill hasn't dropped yet?
Absolutely. Rating is an illusion. A dream. Online ratings doubly so.
I didn't pass 1800 (in the real world, not online) until I decided that I no longer cared about rating points. Two years later, I won the (combined) championship of four provinces.
One thing that might improve your morale is this:
I used to give chess lectures in various chess clubs around the Maritimes. One thing I noticed again and again is that when a player learns some new chess concepts (particularly positional or strategic concepts, rather than tactical ideas) their game results tend to drop sharply as they struggle to integrate the new ideas and methods into their current playing style.
After a few days or weeks, they manage to get the new ideas and methods working together with everything they already knew... and their game results (and rating) recover and go back up to a new high.
My ELO used to be respectable, a little more than 1650. In just 3 days, it dropped from that to 638.
I'm having an actual breakdown and I'm in love with chess so please if you have ANY tips or ANY recommendations just please say it, all I want is help, I just want to get atleast 1000 ELO back.
To make me feel better, just answer this question. Is it okay to have a low ELO if your skill hasn't dropped yet? My ELO has dropped, yes, but I'm still able to easily beat players with 1 000 - 1 700 ELO. Just answer the question, if the answer is no, I'll try to persist and get my good ELO back.
Thanks in advance