I wonder if the most honest starting place is simply to trust that God is already seeking you, even in this very moment of not knowing Him. You do not have to manufacture a feeling of closeness or wait until you feel ready before you begin; the beginning can be as simple as turning your will toward Him in the darkness.
Saint Teresa of Avila speaks directly to this experience of spiritual distance, and her words might offer a gentle path forward: "So, when the fire mentioned in the will is not kindled and the presence of God is not felt, it is necessary that we seek Him... for this is what His Majesty desires, as the Bride did in the Song of Songs, and that we ask creatures who made them... We know the path of how to please God through the commandments and counsels; let us be very diligent in this, and in thinking on His life and death, and how much we owe Him; let the rest come when the Lord wills" [4].
Perhaps the relief here is that you are not expected to feel the fire right now. The starting place she describes is not an emotion, but a diligent, quiet seeking through reflecting on His life and love, trusting that He knows exactly why the feeling is withheld for now and that He is present in the seeking itself.
And if it helps to know how deeply you are already held in that seeking, Fray Luis de Granada reminds us that God’s desire for union with you is not something you have to earn or find on your own: "What do you lack, but living faith and living hope, to trust in God and throw yourself into His arms?" [1].
The starting place is already prepared for you. It is simply this small, honest movement of trust, however tentative, and the willingness to keep seeking Him through the ordinary ways of prayer and reflection, even when He feels far away.