I think le mans is onto something here. Those spoke nipples look like they have no ability to swivel. Which made me think: "Could those spokes be US/British 13 gauge - 2.3mm, rather than 14 gauge - 2.0mm)?". Can you measure the spoke gauge? If the spokes are too thick, and the nipples are proportional, then they won't swivel at all. Which appears to be the case.

The CR18 is a widely-used general-purpose rim that receives decent reviews. I can't believe that it would be so intolerant of the small amount of spoke angle shown in the pics. I think that they are not directionally drilled but they should have the holes offset to each side. Are the spokes laced to the proper holes?

There's probably nothing wrong with that CR18 rim on those hubs, provided that one uses butted spokes of the proper gauge, and uses Brandt's time-tested method to lessen the deviation from 90° that the spoke nipple leaves the rim at. For 3 cross I'd use 2.0/1.8 mm (14 and 15 gauge) for drive side and 2.0/1.65 for NDS and front wheel. If there's still some angle, consider using PolyAx nipples.