No one has told me that there is anyone willing to take over the moderation, or help out - just that elections have been held and no candidates stepping up.

Personally, I came in to Freelancing.SE after only being a freelancer for a couple months - but I've dealt with lots of freelancers, which gave me my experience to answer questions. The modding part came as we needed people to moderate. It hasn't changed much of how I feel about the site, but it is an extra thing on top of answering questions. Obviously, mods do not need to answer every single question, but they need to be willing to participate in more than dropping the ban hammer.

Yea, I need a break... Or at least a helping hand.

@morsor There is no reputation requirement. If you think you can be the Human Exception Handler, and deal with spammy users/flags, and help set the direction for the community, then I invite you to put your name forward when the nominations open again.

My problem right now is burn out - I'm the only active moderator on this site, and have been since inception. Yes, I want to continue to serve the community, but I need help so that it does not feel like a job.

How could SE or myself show that we need moderation for the site to continue to run smoothly?

I doubt SE/SO would go for it, but I'll bring it up.