Where is the fun part of the game?

I bought this game because I like astronomy and the interstellar part of the game is just amazing. But after 200 hours of playing, my gameplay experience just keeps feeling tasteless. I feel like I am wasting my time because it is not fun. I did a lot of trading, making money for the anaconda and type 10, finally got them and take them into the combat at Summerland (CG).

The combat part of the game is just not worth it, it costs me more money to repair my ship compare to the pathetic credit I made from combat. And some CMDRs tend to drop other CMDRs before farming their combat bonds (I don't get it, a community goal turns PVP to me).

There are many mechanics in the game, distress calls, salvage, bounty hunting, but they are just not rewarding enough, making them not enjoyable (I admit mining is quite cool, but it feels like doing a job, not playing a game). I tried to do something nice (I like doing that in other games, too), taking the rescue equipment and jumping to the distress signals to repair ships, and surprisingly there is no reward at all (then why making them Point of Interest??? You pay to the guy who tow your broken car away right?).

So, combat is not net positive and painful to play, exploration does get tedious and require better ships, salvage is for the material to do the engineering, search and rescue gives pretty much nothing except the evacuating space station (don't have money for another passenger ship yet).

Then, where is the fun part of this game? 150 hours of trading, and 50 more hours of trying out different things doesn't answer this question to me at all. The game seems to have so much potential and a lot of things to do, an interstellar stage prepared for things to happen, and yet it becomes a repetitive grind. Eventually, I ask myself: what the hell am I grinding for?

What did I miss as I am trying to find some fun in this game? I do feel like I need help with that. Really trying to love this game right now. I am not blaming devs here, but I am quite lost about this game. What are your reasons for staying playing this game, CMDRs? Which part do you enjoy in this game???