[cesarb]

> traveling from, say, Asia to North America isn’t cheap and there could be visa issues.

And there are other reasons some people might not want to travel outside their nearby region. For instance, they might be taking care of an elderly relative. Or they might be the elderly relative, with travel counter-indicated for health reasons.

[kashyapc]

I agree, these are all really valid reasons. FWIW, I myself have worked with "anonymous" maintainers and contributors that I've never met.

[Vegenoid]

I'll bet many of them simply wouldn't want to.