Sure, being older has some disadvantages, not potentially having as many years ahead of you to learn being chief among them.
I think there are advantages, also. I joke that I only have one talent, which is that I can teach myself new skills. I didn’t always know how to do that.
I’m adopted. When I was a kid, my dad and uncle played guitar. They tried to teach me once. I.har never been so frustrated. My fingers couldn’t tangle enough to play the simplest of chords. I figured that guitar playing wasn’t in my genetics.
As a young adult I found and met my birth family. My (birth)dad and brothers all play guitar quite well. Even then I figured it was too late to start. Especially since my fingers still couldn’t tangle enough to play the simplist of chords.
What I discovered later should be obvious but it isn’t. All skills are aquired skills. Of course I couldn’t play guitar. I’d never taken the time to learn, or to develop the motor skills.
I’m now in my early 40s. (48 is still early 40s, right?) And I’m learning and progressing every day in guitar. If I’d started as a kid, or even a young adult, I might be a great guitarist now. I probably also wouldn’t have progressed as quickly as I am now, having learned how to learn. I also might have given up in frustration.
Older new guitarists have some advantages over their younger selves. That’s all.