I’m sorry to hear you had a bad experience pair programming. Pair programming can, like most things in life, be awful if you are doing it under the wrong circumstances.

As an analogy, let us imagine how much of a shame it would be if you were to be force-fed badly cooked Italian food for a month, and then you were resolved never to try Italian food because of your one month of hell.

I programmed solo for many years — thirty in fact, and was very confident in my abilities. Then I discovered pair programming (with the right people, in the right environment) and really enjoyed it. More productive, more fun, … if done well. An absolute nightmare if done badly (as you discovered).

Anyhow, don’t be afraid — I don’t imagine anyone will ever force you to pair program if you don’t want to. Good luck to you — enjoy your solo coding (as I still do from time to time).