>>97179852There are a couple of potential key factors here that I think are worth stating. One is the notion that Optimus is The Chosen One and may turn out to indeed by the mysterious Lost Prime same as in Aligned. In that case he'd likely have a deeper inherent link with the Matrix than any "normal" Cybertronian.
Optimus received the Matrix on Cybertron amongst a high concentration of Cybertronians, so potentially able to form a psychic link through the Matrix. Maybe, anyway.
Then there is the psychology of the individual. Optimus already felt like he was carrying the weight of the universe and all his people on his shoulders, so unsurprisingly his experience with the Matrix was expressed in that way. Rodimus, however, has some marked difficulties seeing past himself, so it would make sense that he failed to make a deeper connection through the Matrix. It couldn't get past his essential Rodimusness. Instead he's got this fate/destiny shit in his head so the Matrix merging expressed itself as wish fulfillment.
On the other hand it's possible Rodimus is just lying about it feeling bad, worried how Optimus might see it. It is also entirely possible that Rodimus is currently undergoing an extended period similar to The Death of Optimus Prime. No longer burdened by the Matrix and the weight it represents they both decide to fuck off on self-indulgent sort-of-vacations. Orion Pax, however, was pulled out of his by necessity. Rodimus, however many shades of a deeper, more concerned person worthy of the Matrix we see, still falls back into being a bit of a man baby. It's like a ... mid-life crisis triggered by losing the Matrix kind of deal.
