There was a book I really enjoyed:
https://www.amazon.com/Emotional-Craft-Fiction-Beneath-Surface/dp/1440348375
It gave some really good tips on emotionally connecting your readers to your characters. Maybe there’s a missing link there?
SkyCloudsThrowAway’s comment was so good.
I would love to eloquently describe what to do but your question seems a bit vague. You could try reading The Emotional Craft of Fiction which might help.