Why does my GameCube not activate the rumble feature in my controller?

I haven't been able to feel the rumble in my controllers when playing my GameCube for years now. I know it's not the controllers because using them on the switch for smash bros always activates their rumble. Oddly enough, sometimes using the less used ports on the GameCube might activate the controllers rumble, but it's a rare occurrence. It doesn't help that sometimes plugging in the controller doesn't get registered by the system at all.