I admit that prior to Justin's takeover, I was surprised to see how much support the softfork got. However, I would also suggest that the community had not yet been mobilized.
Once the exchanges entered, that's when the community rallied. And what choice did they have but to support The Old Guard Witnesses?
So I think it would be shrewd to keep that fact in mind moving forward. Perhaps community apathy could have played a part in the decision to deploy the softfork, but there is now less apathy ... for now.
I want to clarify that from my perspective there was not apathy per say but a lack of education about civic responsibility and/or choice to participate in Witness voting.
Please keep in mind that most folks stay incredibly busy just creating content and engaging with others via their own and other folks' content.