Answer: yup it is basically politics. They don't give a crap about you, except to get you back in to the fold so you can start donating and going out in service again.
Before the CO visit, the elders have a special meeting to prepare for the visit. A regular topic is - Who can bro CO visit while he is here. There is the usual list of weak ones, inactive, and irregular ones brought up by any of the elders. There is a brief discussion and then a couple people are picked to be put on the list for a visit. If you don't get visited at any other times, you have really shitty elders who don't give a rats ass about you as a person. If they believed your life was really at stake and they also cared about you as a person, they would be beating down your door to get you back to the meetings. After all, why spent hours upon hours banging on the doors of empty houses when there are brothers and sisters that need their faith restored?
Silly isn't it? But, when you realize it is all a fake sham, it is not silly at all and - EVERYTHING makes perfect sense.
The Oracle