Airline pilot here: Sorry to hear about your delay today. No one likes it when things go sideways. But please understand that things are often more complicated than they might seem and that planes and crews come from all over and any disruption - anywhere in the system - can have ripple effects all over. A storm on one side of the country can easily have impacts on the opposite coast. It’s just the nature of the beast. And I say that as someone who spent the day deadheading and encountering delays myself at work today.

By policy no compensation or meals are due in this case. But, if you have a skymiles account you can submit a complaint and they will likely respond with some good-will gesture miles for the inconvenience.