I definately feel you there but it's not unique to Steemit. When I started my Youtube channel I would put in tons of time to have 6 people watch my videos and earn nothing. I did this for months and month and month and then one day all the sudden one of my videos went moderately viral next thign I know I have 10k subs, then 20k, now closing in on 60k.
Same thing with Instagram, same thing with starting an eBay store or rolling out an Amazon product. If you're not willing to put in say minimum 3 months with nothing to show for it dont' get started in the first place because you'll burn out.
Make a commitment to spend at least the next 90 days grinding every day and keep doing it even with 0 results. You will wind up finding a community or being noticed by someone powerful on here and you will be rewarded for it.
You're definitely right. Nothing comes out of thin air, we have to work hard, fail, fail again and then perhaps succeed ^^