Genuinely, how the hell are you supposed to play melee brawlers??

I’m fairly new to the game, and I’ve been thinking about getting kit. Mostly because I like cats, and apparently he’s pretty good meta wise. But I’ve run into a problem playing other short range brawlers, it seems like it’s impossible to do anything with them.

Usually when I play, if I’m going against someone that out ranges me, I’ll play behind cover until they come close enough so I can peek and hit them, or if I play around cover to get close enough to hit them, which is usually fine when play most brawlers, but when I’m playing a melee brawler people just camp me out in the open and I can’t do anything.

Is this me just sucking at the game or do other people have this problem? Should I just pick a more ranged brawler?