Just put on the big boy pants and tell them that you’re not coming this year. You don’t need to make excuses but you can say that “money, scheduling, flying in the winter being miserable, being horribly depressed just stuck in my parents house, and a friend recently moving to my new country and wanting to be there for them.”
Those are called reasons, not excuses - if you want to tell them. But if you don’t want to tell them then just don’t.
Saying oh it cost too much will make someone offer to pay even though they won’t… But they won’t be able to do much about those others.
Tell them you like them and you enjoy being around them but you’re not going to be able to do it this year. They are welcome to pay and travel to you if it is so important.
My family couldn’t be bothered to do the 11-hour drive… It was always us expected to go visit. Moving overseas basically changed nothing because it did not increase the frequency at which visits happened. If anything, it increased the effort that people put into trying to call and video…