I am interesting in the psychology of why hams don't seem to respond to calls made on Echolink
I know this is an old topic but I had to chime in with a first hand observation. I remember one time a new Ham that had been calling on the repeater throwing his callsign out. I was busy with something so I wasn't able to answer him. Another Ham did and he asked, "This is __(Callsign)__ is there something I can help you with? Do you need assistance?" The gentleman came back and said, "I was just looking to talk to someone on here". The other Ham came back to him and said, "Oh, there really isn't anyone on this repeater, no one talks on repeaters around here".
Sadly, Ham Radio IS HF. Plain and simple. You enter on 2 meters just to be told that Hams don't use 2 meters because it doesn't talk around the world. Repeaters are not reliable because in an emergency, they will go down and HF will be the only thing that will reliably work. Echolink? HA! That topic is even worse. I have gotten my head chewed off for using it because "Its not real Ham Radio". So, you are forced to upgrade and join the crowd on HF if you want to talk to someone. I know this is all a load of you know what. But it is what it is. I have been told or heard a lot more that I wont even mention here.
Many new Hams are told this and that HF is where its at. Its where all the Hams hang out. Some of these Hams will bad mouth repeaters and those that use them. This sort of behavior has been going on for a couple decades now and it only gets worse. It is disgusting and might be the reason you don't get an answer back. In some places, no one is there. If they are, CQ is not something people do on repeaters so they probably don't bother going against the norm. If new Hams are taught this way and the ones who have been Hams follow that, how are you going to have any activity on these bands?
Personally, yes, I have used DMR, and Echolink, and talked on repeaters. But I also like using 2 meter simplex. I view Ham Radio as a huge tool box. Its not one band against the other or one class license against another. If I happen to be out and about and don't have my radio, Echolink is very useful. Also when I want to check into the nightly traffic net in my old home state. Would I always use it? Absolutely not. In fact I haven't used it in just about a year. DMR? Again, I use it as needed. Repeaters are good when you need to reach many people too far out from you, but if I am in range of everyone who is talking, I use simplex and I only use the power necessary to reach all of them.
I am sorry you didn't make contact with anyone, but Ham Radio is what Hams make of it. I realize that this thing with repeaters isn't like this all over the place and there are many Hams who love Echolink but many pockets of the country are different and in some spots, you wont hear a single voice across the whole band.