HELP! is it worth going O/O in California

The reason you get so many negative is, it's a hard business. It's hard to make a trucking company work. The market for the trucking industry is seldom great. There are always obstacles. This is a highly regulated industry. Seldom can you control the obstacles. Fuel prices, truck prices, freight prices etc, etc.
Its tough to make a go in the trucking industry on the face. Then so many people want to get into the industry solely on their driving experience. Most know little about business. Most know little about the company industry regulations. They may know the regs on drivers, but not the "company" side of the regs. They dont know whats required.
Some people are natural business men, some get lucky.
Luck is a lot of it. Sometimes these O/O get lucky and a good contract will fall in their lap & they make it. Some are good enough to know where, when & how to find these good contracts & how to get these contracts even with nine other companies also trying to get them. Sometime these contracts are obtained through a friend of a friend.
Some O/O make $250,000 a year in heavy haul & some specialized forms of trucking.

Most people who get into trucking either struggle or go broke. I dont have the figures & I won't pretend I know, but I'd venture to bet that 70% that try to buy their own truck & go O/O, go broke. Probably only 10% get to stay in but struggle. Most of these got sucked into rent to own lease deal with a mega. That only leaves about 20% max in my opinion that really make it to their dream, make a comfortable living & float.

In the OP's scenario, he wants to run local or tri-state & that limits him severely. That in itself limits the reality of even breaking even & staying in & struggling. To be in this already difficult industry, you got to be in the mindset to put EVERYTHING in. You got to be prepared to do whatever it takes & sacrifice (which is something most people today don't know anything about) to get on your feet in the first couple of years.
First, you dont need to just assume the loads & the money are out there. You need a guarantee in hand before you even buy that truck. Then when the truck is bought, you can sign that contract & work HARD on that contract to get yourself started. You cant go on hopes and dreams getting into this industry. You got to have something in your hand before you invest your money. If you try to get into this industry on an "if or maybe" your gonna be one of those 70% in the first year.

The OP says he has enough money to buy a newish truck & wants to make $100,000...
Do you have 6 months of revenue on hand in addition to buying the truck? Cause that's what the real O/O's out here say you need & I agree.

You got to be realistic. You got to KNOW there will be breakdown, accidents, DOT inspections & violations/tickets. There's gonna be a $2000 wrecker bill. These are things most don't count on in their dreams. It's all about the money you're gonna just drag in. Most don't look at this problematic industry realistically. Its all about a dream... I'm just gonna get loads, drive, see the country & rake in the money. Yeah, some say they see it but until you feel the realistic affect of sitting beside the road broke down & what affect that's REALLY has on you, not only for that day, but that week, that month & sometimes that year.
This is why 70% dont make it & another 10% struggle.

I've rambled enough. I think I've put out there, why most people always get that, it's never a good time to start a trucking business. Because this industry is a hard. It's tough. Everything has to go "good" at best for you the first two years. ANYTHING can break you. Freight is down, fuel is up, insurance goes up, Covid comes along, industry regulations change, accident, had a bad run on DOT inspections etc, etc. These are all things YOU can't control. In this industry, you're simply betting on luck. Betting on luck to be with you & on your side. That don't happen very often.