Respectfully, it seems like you didn't take the following comment to heart.
> You sound pretentious, hence why you don't inspire VPs enough to follow your projects. For that purpose, being skilled in SWE is barely important comparing to relational skills. It's time to question yourself.
Instead you deflected, re-asserting your internal monologue of: it's not me, it's them. It doesn't matter what your backstory is if you're not likable. That isn't a judgment on your character -- you may be a wonderful person and friend. Likability is a skill that can be learned, and one that is arguably more important than any software skills you may have (as you may have implicitly observed).