I cannot relate to your experience at least in US. I did a lot of flying this summer and have been flying both nationally and internationally over the years but outside the occasional delays due to weather, my experience has been quite pleasant. Even when traveling with luggage, I can generally check them in right outside the airport where I'm dropped off by Uber. Security checks have been straightforward with just the right amount of annoyance in the mix and mobile apps mean that any last minute changes to gates are well communicated in advance. I have found it all really streamlined to be honest.

I suspect people who look for annoyances in travel readily find them, while people who look for the positives readily find those.

I used to hate business travel, then took a role that required a fair bit of it. Getting used to the routine, finding ways to be efficient, and realizing that even the occasional irregularities aren’t so bad gave me a perspective that while I don’t love it, it’s far more tolerable than how I used to view it.

You have your system/routine, TSA-Pre/etc., probably a club membership. At some point, I also largely said to hell with driving into the airport in most cases and just got a car service; no one pushed back. Whereas in a long ago job I'd sometimes use a shared van service which was... less good.

Still, as you say, some bad travel stories with delays and missed connections but you're better prepared to roll with those punches.

You have to compare it to taking a train (assuming you live in a country with good trains), or driving. I wish one day everyone had access to a system as good as the Shinkansen.