Connection string for MariaDB - mariadb

Question

I'm running CentOS v7.9 with MariaDB v5.5.68. I'm trying to access the MariaDB databases from a Win10 machine using Visual Studio Code with SQLTools & MySQL/MariaDB extensions.
I have configured MariaDB for remote access per this link: Configuring MariaDB for Remote Client Access
[mysqld]
skip-networking=0
skip-bind-address
I created the users and added the privileges - tested by logging in locally with 'bob' and viewing permissions in mysql.user. (BTW, in case not readily apparent, the UID, host, and PWD aren't real.)
CREATE USER 'bob'#'1.2.3.%' IDENTIFIED BY 'myPWD';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON *.* TO 'bob'#'1.2.3.%' IDENTIFIED BY 'myPWD';
However, when I try to log in remotely (from another Linux box) using mysql -u userID -h hostIP -p, I get the error:
ERROR 2003 (HY000): Can't connect to MySQL server on '1.2.3.4' (110)
When I try to make the database connection using VS Code, SQLTools tells me I've connected, but it won't show any tables, I'm not able to make any queries, and I get this error: Request connection/GetChildrenForTreeItemRequest failed with message: Handshake inactivity timeout.
I have reviewed this SO page and others, but still can't get the connection to work.
UPDATED for clarity - provides mysql.user and netstat info:
MariaDB [(none)]> select user, host from mysql.user;
+------+-------------+
| user | host |
+------+-------------+
| bob | 10.0.2.15 | # Can't connect
| rob | 127.0.0.1 | # Logs in locally via command line
| root | 127.0.0.1 | # Logs in locally via command line
| bob | 192.168.0.% | # Can't connect
| root | 192.168.0.% | # Can't connect
| root | ::1 | # Logs in locally via command line
| rob | localhost | # Logs in locally via command line
| root | localhost | # Logs in locally via command line
+------+-------------+
8 rows in set (0.00 sec)
$ > netstat -tulpen
Active Internet connections (only servers)
Proto Recv-Q Send-Q Local Address Foreign Address State User Inode PID/Program name
tcp 0 0 0.0.0.0:3306 0.0.0.0:* LISTEN 27 33813 -
Any help is much appreciated as I've been working this problem for 2+ days and have not made any headway.