You know what, the bitcoin core is not only maintained by handful of developers because that has been the case, the numbers would have swallowed them and even make bitcoin core a thing of the past but the issue is that beyond them a lot of individuals have keyed into that dream. Satoshi is no longer in the picture but the dream is still being carried on which means even if the core developers are no longer there, bitcoin will still continue to survive because a lot of new people come in everyday.