Pride keeps a lot of people in the shallow end forever. Ask for the lesson.

Pride charges a very high price for a very small protection. It saves you ten minutes of looking like a beginner in front of strangers, and in exchange it keeps you standing in the shallow end for thirty years, unable to do something most children can do.

If this is yours, you can hand the decision to one email or one question. Ask for the lesson, pick the quietest time available, and tell nobody until it is booked. Nobody teaching beginners is surprised by an adult beginner.