If you're wanting to perform in front of people, 44 is not a lot of room to phuck around. What kind of music are you wanting to play? What do you listen to? Are you already a pots and pans player? Do you tap your feet at the bus stop, or feel the rhythm against the left turn signal?
I'm not against rubber/pad practice, but it can be very boring to some people. Many of us were in our early teens when we were forced into that regimen. We had nothing else to do. An adult on the other hand, has years of listening experience. And you don't just go through 44 yrs without grabbing a pair of sticks from the local music store or a friend and beat around on stuff. If that's you, then the brute force approach may be the route to go. On the other hand, if you've been listening to a lot of music, and especially if you like a lot of styles, you might get a lot out of joining a country or blues band to start. "Song Song Blue" is a great feeling shuffle that would strengthen the closed grip of your hihat hand, eg.
How much time do you have weekly to dedicate to this? And it's probably a good time to remind ourselves that playing a gig won't be happening any time soon while the pandemic is still raging. In which case, maybe pad practice is the way to go.
I think the adult student needs an approach that's balanced more toward performing. Then integrate the finesse of technique later.