Weak ferrets can't play normally, but they still enjoy encountering new things. If at all possible cancel your trips away. If not possible have a familiar, friendly, knowledgeable pet sitter such as a vet tech. Have a schedule, with some minor variations for interest, so that your pet knows what to expect. When your ferret has to be at the vet's office bring along a favorite toy or blanket which smells like home.
Ferrets turn affectionate in their own time.
There are a few things you will want to do to get it across to your kit that affection, not squirming and nipping, are the ways to go about interacting with you. Make sure you hold them a lot. Support their rump with one hand, and place the palm of your other hand under their chest, wrapping your fingers around their upper torso so that their front legs stick out between some of your fingers. It's a natural ferret-holding position, and it is a good one that keeps them from squirming too much. Train them several times daily by picking them up in this manner.