(1) There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: (2)The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.(3) Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
(4) Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
(5) Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.(6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Call it 'interpreting' if you wish, but it is clear that the verses 5 and 6 belong together as Jesus answered Nic's question. Abortion in our age is cutting off untold millions from being born of water so they can be born of the Spirit. A sure indication that we are in the great falling away.
Craftier folks than you have tried to argue that a man is not born , only babies are born of water, so the 'water' reference cannot be in relation to the water of birth. But you should note, if you decide to take that path, that Jesus answers Nicodemus on the level of reasoning Nicodemus brought to the discussion. Jesus often used this tactic when those who challenged Him tried to trip Him up, as no doubt you have discovered in reading the Four Gospels. Jesus started His message for Nicodemus telling Nic A MAN must be born again. Nic shot back his human reasoning satanically arranged to refute the Word of God. So Jesus came right back at Nic with his own illogical path and brought him to a new way of looking at The Gospel. [See 1 Cor 3:19]
BTW, if you choose to ttrey the ‘water baptism makes cleansing for the Holy Spirit’, you would have to deal with the scene at Cornelius’s home when Peter speaks, the Holy Spirit enters the believers and then Peter says ‘can anyone hold back baptism, seeing as how God has come into them as into we believing Jews’? The water dipping did not precede the indwelling, for God cleanses the dead human spirit with the Blood of Christ and then the presence of God indwells the believer, as is the fashion of the sprinkling of the Mercy Seat before God comes into the temple.