I was confused by that as well. I can only see two ways to do friend request on iOS 13. You can ask the person you want to see location to share location with you. Alternatively, you can share your own location to the person. Once your request is sent, the other part will have the option to share their location as well. Is this the only way to do this on iOS 13?
I found the old way more intuitive. If I want to see the location of a person, I made the request. If he/she approves, I will be able to see their location.