The manager might (or might not) be the source of questions: There might be an emotional grieving member in the group who is questioning the manager on why not everyone is participating.

My view is that the thread topic is entirely different: The thread topic is on why ZenZeta does not enjoy the side effects of being more introverted than their work peers as evidenced by stating, "I hate that I don't connect..."

Everyone expends energy doing things that are emotionally draining, and everyone needs to somehow emotionally recharge. Introverts enjoy examining their own thoughts and feelings. It is hard to examine anything when there is distractions going on, which is why introverts find time to emotionally recharge in isolation. Extroverts enjoy examining what is going on around them. It is hard to examine stuff going on if there is nobody around, and so extraverts are unable to emotionally recharge in isolation. Reality is not as black & white as this description suggests but it provides a starting point to understanding why some people do what they do.

It sounds to me as though someone in the peer the group is an extrovert who needs to emotionally recharge by examining others. They cannot examine people who are not participating, which may be causing them to stress out particularly if they were accustomed to examining the person who is now deceased. We can guess at what that person wants.

"I hate that I don't connect..." is interesting because it raises questions about what ZenZeta wants. My view is that we currently have insufficient information to look into this. If we assume there is no happiness in guilt then I need to ask: Does ZenZara feel guilt for not being able to help the extroverts?