I see the prospect of alien life as approximately as prospectively true as the idea that this reality is not particularly "real" per se. About as likely that none of this is real, to be honest. Not something to hang your hat on, just something that is about as likely. By that, I mean that we have ourselves this mostly cozy little playground we call earth to exist on, coming here with no memory of the past (or indications of the future). It could just as easily be effective a game, a simulation or just something we dreamt up ourselves to experience mortality - which is something that gives events far more gravity. The idea of death is important in making this existence on earth mean something. I don't necessarily believe that isn't something that is incidentally part of what we have here.
Anybody who has ever used a psychedelic will know what I mean by that - I'm not suggesting that they would lead you to any "truth" but they do cast a very clear light on just how incredibly tenuous this reality is and leads me to seriously question the extent of the world around us.
On the subject of alien life being everywhere - the chances are that prototypical forms of life are common - but there is a mild school of thought that we might be a more initial civilisation than we might originally estimate. For one thing, most star systems in the past would have likely had much larger volatile stars. Our own system is only stable because it is formed by the remnants of much larger stars blowing up.
But yes, the chances of life are astronomical - but a lot needs to go right. I don't know that the drake equation takes into account factors such as the ones we have faced ourselves. If the dinosaurs were not wiped out - chances our that our planet would be a completely silent planet (communication wise) to any civilisation pointing their antennas at us. It would be teeming with life, but look as dead as a rock to the outside.
No race will contact us during our lifetimes. Not going to happen.
