Is my crush/friend just bad at texting?

I also posted this in r/relationship_advice but thought this actually might be a better place for it.

I [27F] have had a crush on one of my friends [29M] but I can’t tell if the feelings are mutual. I’m interested in pursuing something with him but my friend can be shy, and it’s hard to tell what’s up. Specifically related to texting! Being stuck in quarantine is not helping.

The Situation: We are sort of new friends and have a lot of shared interests/passions. He finds lots of opportunities for us to do things related to those interests together, but I can’t tell if that’s just a friend thing or if it’s more than that.

I feel a definite spark / an energy between us that has been growing – that could just be in my mind BUT it really doesn’t feel that way. He also acts differently around me than he does with our other mutual friends and we definitely spend more time time together, and he’s opened up to me a lot more. But nothing has happened yet. Little tiny things have happened between us – this is a throwaway so I don’t wanna be specific but there have been some moments. Still, though, nothing big or definitive.

I recently got out of a relationship and one of my friends thinks he might just be keeping a respectful distance for awhile (and of course quarantine) which is why nothing big has overtly happened.

Here’s the thing though: I’m getting really hung up on our texting dynamic, partly because it’s one of the main ways we can stay connected atm. He’ll text me out of the blue just to ask how I am or to send me internet things I’d like, and sometimes he’ll send me long texts about stuff he’s been interested in lately, but then he’ll also just randomly stop responding. It’s very confusing and inconsistent. He has kind of been this way the whole time I’ve known him though, as far as texting goes. The few times we’ve talked on video chat it’s been good and normal. But I’m reading way into it when he stops responding or when he takes a day or two to respond, especially because half the time he stops responding during conversations he’s initiated.

Like I said he can be pretty shy and hard to read and I can’t figure out what’s up! I’m also notoriously bad at this kind of thing bc I always just assume the person isn’t interested but I’m trying not to get stuck on that because I like this guy! Maybe he’s just a bad texter?

Outside perspectives on this would be great. Once quarantine safely ends I might want to pursue this but feedback would hopefully help me see the situation a little more clearly before I decide what to do.

TLDR; I want to try to date my shy friend but I can’t tell how he feels and his texting style is sending me mixed messages.

Does it seem like these feelings are mutual or do I seem totally off base? What’s up with the texting? Thank you!