1) Don't be so discouraged yet. As people have mentioned before, just take a bit of time off- get to know your teammates. Figure out why everyone leaves early- do they not care what happens? Inspiration takes time. You never know when someone will become an 'active' member of the team. I became a 'true' member of my team during the last week of build season last year, and I haven't stopped loving robotics since. Maybe what they need a little push.
www.SOAP108.com has some great videos to watch, and CD is full of robot pictures- possibly by showing these to the rest of your team or just allowing them to explore and get ideas. Leaders are people who can inspire others to think independently and cooperatively.
If difficulties still persist, just ask everyone a simple question: Why are they on the team?
If they want to learn, they must seek the knowledge; if they want it for a resume, they must work to prove it; and so on. Ask them how willing they would be to stay a bit later. and extra hour or two a day is about 10 or so additional work hours per week. Don't force anyone into doing anything, just give them a few choices to make- but let them see the possibilities. Try not to stress yourself out now, because you've got some time to teambuild and to explore robotics. Either way, a priority is to finish the assignment.
2) If I was in your position, the level of importance would be to secure some sponsors in the preseason- a workplace is essential to a team, whether it be a school or machine shop, because this becomes a second home (at least for me, I love robotics too much to leave
) You have a lot of experience already, so you can do whatever is needed. If noone else can do animation, then you should do it, but also teach what you're doing to others. Try out what you can- machining, electronics, animation, whatever is availible. In the end, you should make your decision based upon what you liked the most and what will help the team best. For example, my team focuses on robot building most, so we have very few people doing animation or award write-ups. In this situation, I think you would be most valuable doing animations, because there is already a great majority focused on the robot- but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try out other aspects of robotics.
Keep the team together, focus on some goals- but keep it cool, don't panic, and become a team. Not just for robotics, though. Be a team socially- have trust, respect, and open communication. And have fun with it.
Keep up your work and love for robotics, and I'm sure you will succeed.
_Alex