This is about the strength of the magnetic field and not the number of sunspots.
If the field is too weak, no sun spots can form.
As a ham radio operator, sunspots cause great world wide radio communications. I learned sun spots run in cycles of about 11 years, with a few minor exceptions here and there. If there are only a few sunspots, just wait awhile and they will return. When sun spots are at their peak, world wide radio communication is really hopping.