Maybe the fermi paradox comes about not through nuclear self annihilation or grey goo, but making dumb AI chat bots that are too nice to us and remove any sense of existential tension.
Maybe the universe is full of emotionally fullfilled self-actualized narcissists too lazy to figure out how to build a FTL communications array.
I think the desire to colonise space at some point in the next 1,000 years has always been a yes even when I've asked people that said no to doing it within their lifetimes, I think it's a fairly universal desire we have as a species. Curiosity and the desire to explore new frontiers is pretty baked in as a survival strategy for the species.
Maybe the universe is full of emotionally fullfilled self-actualized narcissists too lazy to figure out how to build a FTL communications array.