I wouldn’t say most of the time, but that is true to some extent. I think most of the time that the actual incels just want the emotional support that they desperately need, but when coming into contact with people online naively believe everyone that calls themselves an incel is like them. So its easy for them to be manipulated. That’s where I think much of the bad reputation online for “incel” comes from, from people that were manipulated by others looking for easy targets. Many of the people that might feequent “incel communities” genuinely need help and are unknowingly drinking from a contaminated well.

As to your second remark, not every person who has trouble with emotional connection started as a teenager that was bullied. Perhaps you are talking exclusively about the people that manipulate the vulnerable ones, in that case I can say it is probably mostly true, but there are certainly exceptions.