I think the difference is that for you, many of those same things can be accomplished by choice. You can still have an absolute start and end to your workday, y

I think the difference is that for you, many of those same things can be accomplished by choice. You can still have an absolute start and end to your workday, you just have to be proactive about it. You can still take the same amount of time to read or think to yourself. Perhaps the requirement of a commute makes doing those things easier, but its entirely possible to do the same thing by simply being more mindful about it. For those who hate their commute, being forced into the office every day doesn't offer the same latitude for adjustments to their personal lives. And many of those things you enjoyed are only possible via public transportation. Given the woeful state of public transportation in much of the US, many commuting are doing so in cars, which don't afford the same opportunities for peaceful self-reflection and unwinding.