I think we joined about the same time, and I agree with your sentiment wholeheartedly. It's been quite a frustrating run, with most of my posts not being noticed. Apart from one post which had a surprising spike, all my other posts average about 3 or 4 votes. I don't know how many reads they received (though I wish there was a tracker for that) There has been very little engagement and most of my conversations are with bots.
I really wish I could give you words of encouragement. I really do. Unfortunately, I'm approaching a crossroads whether I should continue using Steemit as well. It's definitely a whale-driven community, like an exclusive club where I don't have a clue how to penetrate. You hit the nail in the head when you said that it's either you get lucky or you buy your status. I definitely feel happy for those users that make it big, though I really wish that the love was spread more evenly.