ETH is more than a single coin. It's not simply Ethereum, it's also all the dozens of L2 cryptos that use the power of ETH to secure their blockchains. Bridging has made EVM compatible crypto a whole ecosystem.  Perhaps the reason there are fewer clones are that instead of something totally new, the people created a L2 that still ties into the ETH network while doing things different than ETH.

However the barrier to entry is low for a clone or fork, if a person or group feels like they have a better solution then go ahead. The community will decide if it succeeds or not.