yeah the mic distance thing is real, I went through the exact same thing last winter. what finally helped me was borrowing a friend's headset mic — just having it right next to my mouth changed everything overnight and I got way better reports. ended up buying an electret headset not long after, nothing fancy, and the difference vs the stock desk mic was pretty noticeable for casual operating. also someone on here told me once to try listening to my own transmitted audio on a second receiver if you have one, or even a cheap SDR dongle. hearing yourself the way others hear you is kind of eye opening. you realize stuff sounds way different than what you think it sounds like from inside your own head