Hi! :wave:well done for asking for advice on here...there are so many people on RU who have years of expereince with rabbits and their ways - youve def. come to the right place!
Im sure your frustration with him and the way you dealt with it is a learning curve for you...basically we cant expect any animals to understand why we do things or how we take things away to "teach them a lesson"...Humans have to learn the language of the animals they want a relationship with. If we threaten, lock up, abandon for hours on end, ignore, hit or shout at animals...they will def. not trust us and they will not understand why we are acting in this way...thats how some humans communicate (sadly)...not animals.
Your bunny sounds like a single bun...so try to imagine being in his positions...taken away from their family and other bunnies and placed in a foreign place by themselves. Humans like to socialise...so do bunnies...
I think the link Sky-o mentioned is great and also as others said ..sit or lay on the floor in the same room...make sure the bunny can have easy access to you (in other words make sure there is a carpet or something he has a good grip on - you dont want him freaking out and slipping on a wooden floor) but its also very important that the bunny doesnt feel claustrophobic...basically let the bunny come to you...it took ages with my girls and my Archie is very confident so all buns have different personalities like humans, and need different ways of forming a friendship. My buns come to me for attention when THEY want to..sometimes I go to see them when I think they came to see me and then they run away - sometimes they just want to watch you - not interact with you.
I do hope your relationship can growna d the more you watch and see how they communicate with their body language..the more you will realise he is trying to tell you things, and when you get the message right and he rewards you with a little jumo (binky) or nose nudge...your heart will just melt.
One thing my bunnies have taught me....is patience...no bunny in the world will be pushed or rushed into doing something they dont want to. When you feel upset...take a deep breath...relax, as bunny will feel your vibes and show bunny that actually its ok, you need to let him be a bunny...and not conform to what us humans want bunnies to be!
Goodluck with your friendship...Im sure in time he will grow abit more confident in himself to show you he loves you!
oh...and mine dont enjoy being picked up either...they much rather a fuss on the floor.