So I am now at the fun part where I start the qualitative interviews and reach out to people (or institutions). Unfortunately, other than following them on twitter, I have no previous contact with these potential interviewees and am not sure what to say in the first email. Any tips?

I did my masters a year after my undergraduate degree, and then continued on to my PhD, so you could say I do not have much experience. Things still went ok, I applied for a PhD in a good university and was awarded full funding, a world famous professor in my field offered to supervise me. But since I started he has been quite strict and too busy to offer any advice. I became more timid in my writing and am constantly stressed. At the end of my first year I mentioned wanting an academic responsibility, like TA work etc, my supervisor agreed but later changed his mind, leaving me no time to find something else. So the second year began with zero chance for work experience. (I did my undergraduate degree in another country so it prevents me from teaching here at undergraduate level.)

Then a new student started, someone who has a decade of work experience and who constantly brags about being old friends with our supervisor. And our supervisor started spending time with this new student, introducing him to people, giving him all sorts of responsibilities. This new student has also been openly hostile and competitive towards me, constantly mocking my lack of connection with our supervisor and brags about his plans of taking over every academic duty our supervisor can offer, Based by my supervisor's comments on his pre-PhD work experience, I feel like no matter how much I try, I am not good enough.

I can't help but feel bitter and am also constantly worried that I will never get any work experience or and proper supervision or recognition, probably barely finish my PhD, with no chance of finding a decent job. I can't talk to my supervisor about it. I can't request another supervisor since this one is very well-known in the field and no one in the department would agree to somehow offend him by taking me. I hate being in competition with this unpleasant middle aged student and not sure about what to do.