There is always PoDC like BiblePay offers.
You know HTMLCOIN was cpu mining for 5 months. Not having a pool never discouraged any CPU miner. I'm not sure where your perception comes from... It is most likely due to not being around crypto long enough. You know Bitcoin started as CPU only and anyone could mine it in the beginning. Pool was not necessary then and it isn't necessary now. If GPU mining becomes a reality through a clever GPU dev, then CPU mining is game over. But then, you still don't need a pool... you just need a GPU.
The fact you can't join a pool is discouraging to those who think they may never win a block . Being in a pool provides a sense of security that you will get rewarded for your efforts as opposed to your own personal luck. Whether this is true or not is irrelevant, it's just the perception of it being true.