I wish drivers that pick me up from the airport (or who are taking me to the airport at an early hour) would have some sense of situational awareness and realize that someone who just got off a plane (or is waking up early to catch a flight) might not be feeling all that chatty, and just wants to sit back, close their eyes, and enjoy some peace and quiet.

I wonder if this is a uniquely American problem. Over here (Australia) it's always a couple of short sentences ('how'zit goin'?', 'yeah good') then awkward silence the rest of the trip.

Unless the cricket is on the radio, then all bets are off.

I figure probably 80% of my rides are as you describe. But I don't know what it is about airport pickups. I guess it's easy to start a conversation with "where are you flying from?" maybe, and then they don't want to stop after I give a terse answer.

You could always ask....

I always thought this should be a "swipe left / swipe right" thing for both driver & passenger. If they both indicate they want to chat, talk away.

Or you can use the voice activated option with the driver. You just need to say “I’m feeling pretty tired right now and don’t feel like chatting”

Immune that case, the passenger has to worry about the rating they will get from the driver.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t get that. Here are some things you can ask me.”