I think the pawn is placed there to ensure maximum movement of the pieces. However, though they say that white has the initiative at the start, doesnt it just give the opponent the initiative by giving them a target? (the undefended pawn in the middle of the board) So maybe thats a factor in your games - the lack of a target.
Certainly that's one way to look at that, but in for example 1 e4 g6 white's center is a little more power usually doesn't fully equalize. But in fact in some weird cases it's an actual mistake to set up (or more often advance) a pawn center if the other side has his rooks on the center files and your king is still on e1. Then some sacrifice might be strong, destroying your center and opening up all those files for a big kingside attack.
Yes, 1 b3 controls the center, but it allows black to set up a solid block on e5 or even d5, so it doesn't offer the same chances of advantage of more aggressive first moves. 1 Nf3 though is very flexible as that knight being there is useful in most openings.