In this case, it's also a very ego-driven project.

Honestly, the few times I went into systemd source (to deal with how they didn't document some critical information without which I couldn't ensure coexistence of other software, software needed for functionality systemd didn't expose), I found it a total mess - combined with very loud and explicit ways the decision of the "stewards" were defended by the team, I would be frankly wary of trying to contribute anything non-trivial.