Right time to be Returning to SoT?

For some context: My BiL and Myself used to play together frequently. We only stopped once we had unlocked all 3 ship types. (Against my insistence that we try to get rarer curses or try our hands at hourglass) It's a bit to say that I have a lot of fond memories on SoT. I decided away since playing solo got old fast but recently Ive started watching some of my old favorite YouTubers and content on SoT and I've decided that I'd love to get back in. Of course it didn't take me long to find out about the current situation in the community. I don't understand it fully, but it does have me concerned that player counts might have dropped or it might just not be the right time to come back. So I figured it'd probably be wise to ask about the current game state and how (if it all) the situation might affect my experience.