You say this like being a senior FO is some kind of hardship. COVID was a great time to be a senior FO. Hindsight favored pulling your trips, you could bid amazing LG bars, and no worries about getting displaced, clear board to add flying to, etc. I had my best block to pay ratio in 2020, and would have had my best year in overall pay if I would have been more motivated to go into work.

Factoring everything in, moving from senior FO to junior captain at Southwest has always been a "small" move. The gap closes even more if you have to take a 6 month seat lock and a west coast base.