Hey there sandjdusek,
Welcome to Apple Support Communities!
Based on what you're experiencing, these steps can help:
"Set Microphone to left, right, or automatic
There's a microphone in each AirPod, so you can make phone calls and use Siri. By default, Microphone is set to Automatic, so that either of your AirPods can act as the microphone. If you're using only one AirPod, that AirPod will be the microphone.
You can also set Microphone to Always Left or Always Right. You can also set Microphone to Always Left or Always Right to always have either the right or the left AirPod use the microphone even if you remove it from your ear or put it in the case."
This is found in Change the settings of your AirPods and AirPods Pro. We'd want to check that the microphone settings are correct on how you'd like to use them.
If it's still not working, you might even reset your AirPods. Here's how: How to reset your AirPods and AirPods Pro. After this is completed, you want to test out a call.
Let us know if this helped out.
Take care!