There's a difference in Second Life and the whole "metaverse" just as there is a difference between the time and tech then and now.
Not every tech is going to be successful at every time. The same solution can fail once and succeed some other time when there's a change in the market and/or the underlying technology.
There's a much larger number of human beings on the internet now. And they are not just on the internet, but they actively use it for a large amount of time. That's the chance in market right now and what will drive the adoption of metaverse soon.
The thing that we should focus on right now is whether we want a metaverse owned by Facebook or something that is defined by open protocols.