Repeatedly joining dead-end projects

I’ve worked as a software engineer for 15+ years. Whenever I look for a new job, I’m picky about the company’s prospects, but despite that, I often join teams, only to find them reaching a dead end in a few years, even if the company is successful. I’ve never been part of a team that grew its mandate and size five years after I joined; they’ve all fizzled out and been absorbed by other parts of the org.

Projects die all the time, so I don’t take this personally, but I wonder to what extent I’m a common thread in this. Is it because I’m good at getting projects in a stable place, and the quiet wheel doesn’t get the grease? Is it that I lack vision for the project? Are most projects just someone’s vision, but the backing story is actually weak? Or are most projects fundamentally close to going into maintenance mode, and this is the expected case?