Learning the stream player, loading issues

I have made a global soundtrack object to handle music and a function to swap tracks even time the player stops. I have a problem though. On testing by itself, the player works so far so good. But when I try to put it as an autoload and use it, I keep getting "Node not found (when direct referencing child)" and "null instances (if onready var referencing them)". Pretty sure this is a loading issues. My tracks are compressed down to OGG and are only loaded when they are queued to play and yet, this is happening whenever I try to actually insert it into my game. I have not found a lot of decent tutorials outside of "here's how to play a sound."

Here's the code - any best practices or optimization advice is appreciated as I am just learning the AudioStreamPlayer.

extends Node2D


onready var _calm = $Calm
onready var _pursuit = $Pursuit
onready var _hidden = $Hidden
onready var _escape = $Escape
onready var _scene = $Event

var _calmTrack = 0
var _chaseTrack = 0


const _calmTracks = [
	"res://music/calm/Attic_Springs.ogg",
	"res://music/calm/NoHome.ogg",
	"res://music/calm/Seeking.ogg",
	"res://music/calm/VoidSoul.ogg",
	"res://music/calm/Wave.ogg"
]

const _pursuitLoops = [
	"res://music/tense/hurt_loop1.ogg",
	"res://music/tense/mono_loop2.ogg",
	"res://music/tense/noesc_loop3.ogg",
	"res://music/tense/reven_loop1.ogg",
	"res://music/tense/run_loop.ogg"
]

const _hiddenLoops = [
	"res://music/tense/hurt_loop2.ogg",
	"res://music/tense/mono_loop1.ogg",
	"res://music/tense/noesc_loop1.ogg",
	"res://music/tense/reven_loop2.ogg",
	"res://music/tense/run_loop2.ogg",
]

const _escapeShots = [
	"res://music/tense/hurt_end.ogg",
	"res://music/tense/mono_end.ogg",
	"res://music/tense/noesc_end.ogg",
	"res://music/tense/reven_end.ogg",
	"res://music/tense/run_end.ogg"
]

const _sceneBGM = [
	"res://music/calm/Doors.ogg",
	"res://music/calm/Vessel.ogg",
	"res://music/tense/springs_end.ogg"
]


## randomize numbers for song pulls, connect end shots back to regular music
func _ready():
	var _out_ = $Timer.connect("timeout",self,"_initialize")
	$Timer.start(5)

func _initialize():
	_shuffle_bgm()
	
	if Director._inPursuit == true:
		_pursuit_music()
	else:
		_calm_music()


### play calm music
func _calm_music():
	var _myCalm = load(_calmTracks[_calmTrack])
	$Calm.stream = _myCalm
	$Calm.play()
	
	if Director._inPursuit:
		$Calm.stop()
		_pursuit_music()

	if Director._inPursuit == false and $Calm.playing == false:
		_shuffle_bgm()
		_calm_music()

## play tense music
func _pursuit_music():
	var _myChase = load(_pursuitLoops[_chaseTrack])
	$Pursuit.stream = _myChase
	$Pursuit.play()
	
	if Director._playerIsHidden == true:
		$Pursuit.stop()
		_hidden_music()


## play suspense music
func _hidden_music():
	var _myHidden = load(_hiddenLoops[_chaseTrack])
	$Hidden.stream = _myHidden
	$Hidden.play()
	
	if Director._inPursuit == false:
		$Hidden.stop()
		_escape_music()


## play escape one-shot
func _escape_music():
	var _myEsc = load(_escapeShots[_chaseTrack])
	$Escape.stream = _myEsc
	$Escape.play()
	
	if $Escape.playing == false:
		_shuffle_bgm()
		_calm_music()

## rng function to change song pull
func _shuffle_bgm():
	randomize()
	_calmTrack = randi() % 4
	_chaseTrack = randi() % 4

cybereality oh yes, i was trying different methods and got frustrated, may have forgot to clean that up. I did your method and got this:

E 0:00:00.598 get_node: (Node not found: "Calm" (relative to "/root/AudioManager").)
<C++ Error> Condition "!node" is true. Returned: nullptr
<C++ Source> scene/main/node.cpp:1325 @ get_node()
<Stack Trace> AudioManager.gd:7 @ _ready()

I am not sure why this is happening.
My debugger is showing, no matter what method i use, that the players are coming up null. The tracks seem to be loading fine. (IN FACT I have some errors where the music plays and then the program seems to crash.)

cybereality Hmmm... curious. It's not happening when it is NOT an autoload. I am wondering if maybe load order is suspect here. What's your best practice when using audio at autoload? I am wondering if I have should have these commands call from a separate global object.

cybereality Yeah I had it like that but - i figured it out. I did an autoload on the node and NOT the script and it seems to be working great now. I guess loading the script caused errors? The functions I made are also seemingly working now!