It is that hard for some. Empathy requires actually going out and talking to people. And then listening to them describe their experiences, without editorialising or interrupting.

I've met plenty of engineers who would rather spend 2 weeks programming than spend 5 minutes talking to their users. I used to struggle a lot with this myself when I was younger. Social anxiety isn't easy to overcome.

With so many people lacking emotional intelligence, I would strongly disagree with you.