I tried setting up a test profile using Damus running on my MacBook and didn’t run into any real issues so maybe it’s not a consistent problem.
This npub populated right away for me when I searched for it: nostr:npub1kgep4vrwk92gqt7h3xqsxke7gv8kscc9d5cmc20ev6rz30djs50ss2dan3
For all I know, it could have been something to do with my own relay set, which is hopefully resolved now.