One comment was that a long haul trucker making $50K has to spend $20K a year to live on the road (with all the attendant hardships).
That’s part of it, but that only applies to the over-the-road segment of the industry. The trucking industry is slowly moving towards a business model based on shorter hauls for most loads. Part of this is driven by the “shortage” of drivers, but rising fuel costs are a big factor as well.