It shouldn’t be this hard to play GTA Online with friends

Lord help me, but I’ve recently decided to get back into GTA Online. I played it for hundreds of hours before I switched focus to Red Dead Online. Not getting blown up by some twat on an Oppressor every time I tried to resupply a business really helped keep my blood pressure in check. 

But, Red Dead Online is dead, and GTA Online now allows you to run your businesses in private lobbies, so it should be the perfect time to get back into it all. Why then, does Rockstar make it so damn hard to play with your friends?