In the vortex model of microworld, special carriers are not necessary for creating nuclei in the field environment and maintaining their stability. All nucleons are spinning vortices. The flow of its own field wraps around each nucleon. The Bernoulli Effect creates a gradient of the normal pressure of the external environment of the field near the nucleon. Nuclear forces are equal to field pressure gradients. The small size of nucleons leads to large pressure gradients and short action of forces. During the formation of nuclei, the trigger principle of interaction takes place. Nucleons do not expend energy on attraction. They only create the conditions for the work of the forces of the electromagnetic field.
The model is described in the book "Electromagnetic Gravity. Part 2" in my profile.