With a project like this, I think it's important to take a long-term view, and not burn yourself out too early by putting too much early-term effort in.
I think the expectation some people may have had that the Fediverse was going to take off like a rocket and become the "next big thing" was a little bit of wishful thinking. The real process will take years imo, and we're just keeping the lights on in the meantime.
Development continues. That's the important part to remember.