Failure to activate a muscle during an exercise is usually an execution/awareness problem, not an exercise-choice problem — relevant to both Strength & Power Training Protocol and Hypertrophy Programming.
Consciously/visually focusing on and imagining contraction of the target muscle during a lift shows early evidence of producing more growth than the same reps and intensity performed with divided attention.
A coach or partner touching the target muscle plus a verbal prompt (e.g. "squeeze my finger") builds a trainee's awareness of and ability to activate a muscle that isn't engaging.
Starting a movement at the top of the range of motion and lowering under control (eccentric-only) is an effective way to activate stubborn, hard-to-recruit muscles — it can produce soreness in muscles that have never been sore under years of normal training (e.g. lats despite many pull-ups), suggesting chronic under-recruitment can hide behind an otherwise "trained" muscle. Progression toward full range of motion can take six weeks to six months.
Source: Galpin/Huberman, "Essentials: How to Build Strength, Muscle Size & Endurance."