That's exactly the argument I'm making. No one is saying that commuting is bliss. Technically, in terms of getting to work, the most ideal circumstance is living in the airport hotel and anything further away from that is worse. Some people choose to make the claim that because it's worse than the ideal, it's awful. That's not how anything works.

What I have said is that commuting is a mindset. You can choose to believe that it is awful and a drain on your soul, or you can make the best of the time. You can read books, watch movies, sleep, catch up with friends and so on to pass the additional time. Purely in terms of driving to work vs commuting to work, yes, living in base is superior. But I don't look at it in such simple-minded terms. I enthusiastically choose to spend a few extra hours a week commuting to trips because it makes me happier than if I lived right next to ATL. And, on the not so rare occasions where I can get 30 hour layovers in my home city, I enjoy it even more. Or DHs to or from my home city or another base.