Nervous to approach a potential PhD supervisor

I’ve been contacting this research team/Uni for nearly a decade, submitting phd applications, emailing individuals asking about potential phd projects/funding/etc. 2 years ago after I submitted yet another phd application and it was rejected. I asked for some feedback and they provided the below reply:

Thank you for your email. I apologise if there was any confusion. However, the senior Director of Postgraduate Research, in the School of Mechanical Engineering, reviewed your applications. You do not have any open applications in the school of Mechanical Engineering. You are not suitable for PhD study in the School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Leeds, so our academics have advised me.

So, it took me 2 years to recover from that last line of the above reply! Now, I want to retry and reach out to the same team/people again. I know I am more than good enough, I am interested in this institute and I am not the type of character that would take no for an answer! So please help me. How would you suggest I reach out to those people now after 2 years? Email them and just start afresh, ignoring what they told me 2 years ago? Or what? I don’t know. All I know is I want to do this but I’m nervous.

Did you clarify this bit at the time?

"You are not suitable for PhD study"

That sounds like a specific thing that made you unsuitable for some reason.

If you didn't, it's likely too long ago now so I would just approach them afresh.

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. Unfortunately, I didn’t at the time. I got the response on my birthday and took it personally and it really messed me up mentally. So I decided not to reply to that email. Thanks again 🙏